The Board of Secrets
by samlover14
Summary: Ryan's summer is going great after the talent show, but what happens after one party at the Evans' Mansion changes his life forever? Tryan TroyxRyan. Zekepay. Chaylor. minor: Troyella, Ryelsi, Ryella. Rated T, for some stuff. Now complete!
1. Summary

**General Plot Synopsis:** Ryan has gone to East High for years, and he never noticed the secrets going around, especially a particularly important one. Troy knows all the secrets, and he has one of his own.

**Setting: **August 2007, after HSM2, before senior year, duh. It starts on a typical Saturday evening that summer, at a party at the Evans' mansion.

**Background information:** Troy and Gabriella have been dating since the beginning of the first movie. Chad and Taylor have been together since the end of the first movie. Jason and Kelsi are _not_ together in this one. Yet.

**Cast:** (Character - Birthdate - Actor/Actress)

Troy David Bolton – 3.17.1990 – Zac Efron

Gabriella Elizabeth Montez – 9.8.1990 – Vanessa Hudgens

Sharpay Amanda Evans – 6.17.1990 – Ashley Tisdale

Ryan Alexander Evans – 6.17.1990 – Lucas Grabeel

Chad Michael Danforth – 5.6.1990 – Corbin Bleu

Taylor Isabelle McKessie – 8.11.1990 – Monique Coleman

Kelsi Aisha Nielson – 10.3.1990 – Olesya Rulin

Jason Anthony Cross – 4.14.1990 – Ryne Sanborn

Zeke Christopher Baylor – 2.5.1990 – Christopher Warren, Jr.

Martha Sophia Cox – 12.16.1989 – Kaycee Stroh

Charles Patrick Brown (Chuckie) – 9.19.1990 – Charles Klapow

All dates are pretty much arbitrary, as are middle names. Meaning I made them up.

Chuckie is my character (not really, cuz he's in the movies. I like his hair.), who becomes pretty important. You'll find out why.

**Please read and review. This will be a Tryan, so that means slash. If you don't like, then don't read it. **

**Samantha.**

**And, I don't own HSM, or anything else.**


	2. What Happened?

**A/N: So, here's the first part. ****It will be a ****Tryan****, but it's taking the scenic route. The rest of the **_**written**_** story will probably be up within the next couple of days. ****There are 68 written pages.****) Italic sentences are thoughts. Any bracketed material is a note from me, the author. I don't own HSM or the characters or anyone that stuff. Ryan's POV.**

There I was. At the party, holding a beer. Typical me behavior, I guess. It was summer. It was hot. I was hot. I was sitting at the bar that had been temporarily erected in my living room every Saturday night for the last month or so, ever since the staff pool party. Mom and Dad had no idea. They would kill us if they knew. We paid the staff extra, of course. We could afford it. Sometimes I think we don't pay them enough. They're not illegal immigrants; they're, like, real people. That's not nice. Illegal immigrants are people, too. I don't know where I'm going with this. Back to the party.

Sharpay was around, somewhere, with Zeke, of course. Kelsi and Jason were, last I heard, in some room down the hall. We've got plenty of them. Rooms, I mean. Some of them don't even have a purpose as far as I can see. Chad was in the dining room with most of the basketball team doing shots, leaving his girlfriend Taylor with Gabriella. Neither of them was drinking. They never did. I don't know why they even came to the parties. To accompany their boyfriends when they passed out, I guess. Not much point, Gabi can't even drive. Neither of them were seventeen yet. They were just kids. Not that that's saying much. Kelsi's even younger than them. But I digress.

I looked around for Troy, East High's Golden Boy. Not that I really cared where he was. I hated that punk. He was always ditching Gabriella, and being an ass about it. There he was, over by the wall, collapsed on a couch. He was still conscious, I could tell, but thoroughly exhausted. _Probably from all the shots. Wait, I don't care about that ass._ And I didn't care. I willed myself not to care. _Damn you, Troy Bolton, for being so goddamned sexy._ I had been thinking about Troy like that for a while now. I still didn't like him as a person, but, I mean, look at him. He's like god's gift to women. God's gift to _women_, of course. Meaning I had no chance. No chance at all. Not one. _But, oh, if I did…that would be so…no! I have to stop that._ I couldn't think like that. Troy was straight. And so was I, to be perfectly honest. _Or am I?_ The question had been brought up plenty of times. I was straight. Of _course_ I was straight. I couldn't be gay. _Could I?_ No, I couldn't. At the moment, I was just entranced by Troy's hotness. You'd have to be. He's _that_ hot. But I was straight.

I didn't know why I had to keep reaffirming it to myself. I knew I was, but that didn't change the fact that just about everyone thought I was gay, which wasn't helping my wayward thoughts. _Damn._ No, I was straight and to prove it, I had to…do something. But what? I downed my beer, which brought my total tally to 8, so far. I had plenty to go. I got up and began wandering around the room, finally ending up by Gabriella and Taylor.

"Hey, guys," I said to them. They looked at me. They looked almost sad. "Why so sad?" I should have picked it out of their eyes. I'm usually so good at reading emotions, but there was no denying I had been drinking.

"Gabriella…she…well, she and Troy broke up," said Taylor. I couldn't tell whether I was supposed to take that as good news or bad news.

"Isn't that a good thing?" I asked tentatively. Taylor slapped my leg. "Well, he's just such an ass, I figured…"

"That's not the problem, Ryan," said Gabriella. "The problem is…well, what it is, is…I, well…"

"Gabi, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" I asked.

"Not really," she said.

"Okay, that's fine," I said. I sat down on the couch's arm and snapped open another can. "You don't have to talk about it." I drank part of the beer and looked at her. "What?"

"Ryan, I…I don't know what to do. Troy's been such an ass, but I'm not really even sure about anything these days, and I just need…" Gabriella began. I suddenly realized that Taylor had left. "I just need…" Tears were running down her face. "I just need…" she tried one more time. "I just think that I need…" And that's when she kissed me.

* * *

I woke up the next morning. I couldn't remember hardly anything after the kiss. I sat up and realized that this was my bed. And I was not alone. _Oh, shit. Who is it this time?_ Not that this had ever happened before. I'd never woken up with someone else in my bed. Ever. And I'm seventeen. So, you've probably guessed by now that the girl in my bed was Gabriella. And that we had sex. And that I'm a freaking douche bag. So, I'm just going to cut to the chase, and go for all of the above. It's all true. Yep. Back to my bedroom, on what I like to call "The Morning After". After staring at the girl beside me for a few seconds, or minutes, or hours, or days, as it might have been, I stood up and pulled a towel and some clothing from my dresser. Not much, just some boxers and an undershirt. I walked into the bathroom that I shared with Sharpay, and took a shower. I was quite hung over, as you probably would have guessed, with almost no recollections of what had happened the night before. Although, now it was a lot harder to question my sexual preference. I liked girls, of course, this would prove it. Troy was an anachronism. I finished my shower and got dressed in the shirt and boxers. I walked over to my closet to pick out something to wear for the day, or possibly just that morning. I had been known to wear three different outfits in a day. I had finally decided on a pair of khakis and a blue shirt, with a matching hat when she decided to awaken. She rolled over and looked at me.

"Good morning," she said to me, in an air that told me that she wasn't going to be hung over that day.

"Mm. Good morning," I replied. I was, well, less than thrilled to have woken up to find a girl in my bed, least of all this particular one. "And how are you?"

"Fine, thanks," she said. She made to get out of the bed, and I turned away, not really wanting to look at her. I continued buttoning buttons. "So last night was fun, huh?"

"Mm," was all I said. She didn't seem completely satisfied with this answer.

"I think so," she said. I wasn't really thrilled about not remembering this particular milestone in my life. Losing your virginity is usually something you'd like to remember.

"Mm," I said again.

"Are you not going to talk to me?" she asked me. I honestly didn't know how to answer the question. There was a silence. "Well, then, if you don't want to talk, then maybe–"

"Look, Gabriella, I'm not exactly sure what went on last night, and I'm not altogether sure I even want to know," I added before she could tell me, in all the graphic details. "But I'm guessing it was probably–"

"Ryan, you know, how do you know we did anything last night?" she countered. "You were pretty drunk."

"Yeah, Gabi, and it's not particularly nice to take advantage of a drunken person," I said. "I've never…I mean, I wasn't…" My voice trailed off. I didn't really have much to say and the hangover was killing me.

"Oh, I know. Me neither. That's why it was so…special," she said. I couldn't believe my ears. _She never slept with Troy? And she slept with me? What on earth is this world coming to?_

"No, Gabs, it wasn't. It wasn't fair, and it sure as hell wasn't special. Just go sleep with your own boyfriend next time. And that's not me," I said. I walked out my room inwardly swearing at myself. Not many know it, but I can be even bitchier than Sharpay. Try me. I walked down the stairs and into the dining room. Food, especially Potassium, reduces a hangover. So does sleep and exercise and sex, apparently, although they didn't seem to be working at the moment. I found most of the Wildcats seated around the table. Apparently they thought that we were a hotel, because every time they got drunk they thought they could just crash in the living room. At this point, though, I didn't even care. They greeted me with cheers and whistles. _Oh, god, they know, don't they? Shit._

"Nice work, Evans," one of them called out. Everyone in the room looked in a cheery mood. Everyone except one person, that is. That one person, of course, being the very guy I hated, Troy Bolton.

* * *

"Okay, Evans, what the hell is this? Gabriella dumps me and then she has sex with you? What on earth is this world coming to?" Troy asked.

"You know, that's funny, I asked myself the same question," I said. Noticing the rising tension between Troy, Gabriella, and me during breakfast, the rest of the Wildcats had cleared out, leaving me and Troy to it. I was dead and I knew I was dead, and I had decided to go into Bitch mode only as a last resort, which wasn't quite yet, but it was looking better and better every second.

"Don't pull that crap with me, Evans. What's going on? Probably she told you we never slept together," he said.

"I-Troy, I'm so sorry. I was drunk, and I don't even remember it," I said.

"Evans, this isn't just some random girl. This is my Gabi we're talking about. My Gabi," he said. I didn't have anything to say. "Your gay ass not going to say anything. Evans? That's probably to be expected, given the circumstances." _God, __Sharpay__ has rubbed off on him._

"Look, _Bolton_," I said, putting particular emphasis on the use of his last name, "I was drunk, Gabriella wasn't. You can tell, she's not hung over. _She_ took advantage of _me_, not the other way around. Don't act like she's totally innocent here. And don't let me ever hear you calling me gay again, Bolton," I added for good measure, even though I wasn't even really sure I wasn't. But I couldn't be. I had slept with a girl, hadn't I? _No, you were drunk, that doesn't prove a thing._ Stupid voices in my head. _Shut up, you stupid voice._

"Whatever," said Troy, evidently determined to have the last word. He began walking out the door. I wasn't going to let him have it. I just couldn't resist.

"Oh and Bolton?" I asked. "You might want to, uh, XYZ." I laughed and disappeared through the door leading to the lounge. I could tell he was going to be furious, but I just couldn't resist.

From the lounge, I went through about four other rooms, staying clear of hallways, where Wildcats were sure to be, until I got to an outside door. Sure, sunlight was hell for my hangover, but I didn't really want to know what was going on inside. I went out the door to find myself in one of the gardens, the one with the hedge that I had once used as a fort. I headed there again.

I had been sitting on the ground meditating for a while, when someone interrupted my thoughts. It was Chad. _Probably come to yell at me or film me on a webcam to show the world._

"What, Danforth?" I said, perhaps a little more forcefully than I would have liked.

"Dude, I heard what Gabi did to you," Chad said. He came inside the hedge and sat on the ground nearby. "Couldn't believe it, man."

"Chad, look, I don't really want to talk about it," I said, not looking at him. I felt like if I never heard about Gabriella or Troy again it would be too soon.

"Okay," he said. He didn't say anything else. He just sat. Finally, I looked at him.

"Okay, you didn't come all the way out here just to tell me that, especially when you're hung over, too. What do you want?" I asked.

"I don't know, man. Thought you might want to talk. That's what we usually do. Talk," he said.

"Okay, let's talk then," I said.

"Well, it's probably no use telling you that Troy and Gabs made up," Chad said. I grunted. I didn't even really care at that point. I was so done with the both of them. "And Troy thinks you're an ass."

"Well, you can tell him that I am an ass, and that he is, too," I said.

"You're not an ass. Troy's an ass. And Gabi's a bitch. You don't deserve all the crap everyone gives you. And if you say you're straight, I'll believe you," Chad said. This, at least, was a first.

"I am straight, I guess, Chad. I mean, I've had a few…wayward…thoughts, but hasn't everybody?" I asked.

"Um, let's not talk about that," Chad said. "That's a little TMI, dude."

"So…" I said. I didn't really have anything to say. I had done it, hadn't I? I had confirmed my straightness. I couldn't go back now. _Why am I __overthinking__ this so hard? This can't be that difficult for everyone else._ "You know, Chad, I was going to talk to Kelsi about this, but you're here. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but you'll listen, right?" He nodded. I sighed. "The truth is, I can't tell. I have no clue if I'm gay or not. I've never really had a girlfriend, but I've never had a boyfriend, either, and as far as I can tell, they only person I find attractive at the moment is…well…Troy." Chad looked at me awkwardly. This wasn't the right conversation to be having, and I knew it, but I had to just say it.

"Well, I've got to say that it's about time," Chad said. I was very confused by this answer.

"What?" I asked. I had no idea that my disclosure was going to be taken this way.

"The guys and I have had a bet since, like, the sixth grade on when you were going to admit you had feelings for Troy," said Chad.

"Oh, great, thanks," I mumbled. "And I don't have feelings for Troy. He's just really hot and stuff. And I don't want to be with him like that, or anything, that's weird."

"Well, you've lasted much longer than most of the bets. I think Chuckie had the last one to pass, and that was sophomore year," said Chad.

"I can't believe you guys would take bets on something that serious, Chad," I said. "So, when did you bet?"

"Actually, to tell the truth, I said graduation," said Chad. "Guess I was off, huh?"

"Not really," I said. "So who's listening to our little conversation?"

"Um, no one. It's just me. Really, dude," Chad said. That made me feel a little better at least.

"I think we need to go out and get me a girlfriend," I said.

"Don't you mean…Troy?" said Chad, grinning. I looked at him and frowned. He wasn't helping.

"No," I said simply. "Troy's a big asshole. A great big asshole. A big huge asshole. Who is sexy as hell. Damn! Why do I keep saying this stuff out loud?" I poked three of my fingers into my forehead.

"Dude, don't worry. I won't say a word. Unless you want me to," added Chad, hopefully.

"You say a word and you're dead, Danforth," I said.

"Ooh, Ryan Evans is threatening me. However shall I defend myself? What is he going to do? Hit me with his hat?" Chad said, joke mockingly.

"Of course not, that would be a waste of a good hat. I do have other things to hit you with though," I said. "Like…Sharpay." Chad gasped.

"You wouldn't," he said.

"No, but I would if you said a word about this to anyone. Anyone. Got that?" I said. I was still joking with him, but only a little. I didn't want this going public.

"Got it," said Chad. "Don't worry, dude. I wouldn't say anything anyways."

"Thanks, Chad," I said. I stood up and stretched. If I was going back inside it was now or never. Chad stood up as well, and we walked out of the hedge into the gardens, straight into one of the last people on earth I wanted to see at that moment.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?"

**A/N: ****Please Review!! Thanks for reading!**


	3. What have we here?

**A/N: Yeah, here's the next part of this wonderful ongoing saga of Tryanness that isn't really Tryanness yet. I don't own HSM or Wicked anything like that, even though it would be kickass if I did.**

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" I looked up to see who had said this. I was shocked. I stole a glance at Chad who had gone white, if you could imagine it. It was Troy, of course. Who else could it have been? Gabriella, I suppose, or Jason, or even Sharpay, but I would have gladly traded the smirk on Troy's face right now for Sharpay's wrath about the night before. In fact, I hadn't even seen her. Or Zeke. _Oh._ I came crashing back into reality, though, for no particular reason, other than Troy Bolton was now staring me and Chad down. I didn't really have a thing to say. Chad didn't look like he would ever speak again. I decided that I needed to say something.

"Well, this has been fun! But as you can imagine I have much to attend to, what with the Wizard's unexpected departure. So, if there are no further questions..." I began. I hadn't been exactly sure where to go, but something bitchy to say had been needed, so I thought a Glinda quote was in order. Chad and Troy were both staring at me now, more out of shock, than in anger.

"What?" Troy finally asked. "I-What? There's a Wizard?" Chad looked on the verge of laughter.

"The Wizard of Oz, dumbass," I said. I attempted to push past the both of them, but apparently that particular part of Sharpay's essence evaded me.

"Whatever. Ryan, dude, I'm sorry about this morning. You were right, man," Troy said. I was really kind of surprised at this comment. Hadn't Chad told me that Troy had gotten back together with Gabriella?

"Whoa, wait? You're forgiving me? Chad said you made up with Gabs," I said, trying to make sense of all this information.

"Well, I did. Yeah, we're back together, but that doesn't really excuse me from saying what I said, Evans, and I'm sorry. You know, even if Gabi isn't," Troy said. I looked at him, trying to get a sense on whether he was being serious or not. If he wasn't, that was just plain cruel. If he was, that would be a first. Well, not a first. We had made a shaky amends before the talent show, which was just to be torn apart by Troy being an ass to Gabriella once again, although I was pretty sure that she deserved it.

"Are you serious, Troy? Cuz if you aren't that's just…mean," I said.

"Yeah, I'm serious, man," said Troy. Chad looked oddly uncomfortable. Then I remembered why. _D'oh. But I'm not thinking that way anymore. I'm straight. Straight as…something that's really straight. Yeah, that's how straight you are. You can't even come up with some to compare yourself to. Real straight._ "So, come back inside. Sharpay and Zeke are down now, and Sharpay's been insisting on seeing you." I smiled and Troy led the way into the house, not noticing me staring at his ass. I'd like to take this time to point out, that in no way is Troy's ass superior to _my_ ass, but it's still a good ass. And in no way does that make me conceited, but let's face it, my ass is amazing. Chad seemed to notice I was staring however, and snickered. I remembered that I was supposed to be straight (and I was, of course), and I tried to stop staring, but I couldn't. The truth was that as much as Troy was hot, I couldn't imagine being anything more than friends, and even _that_ was a big step for us. We had pretty much hated each other from that day in the first grade when he gave Sharpay (and eventually me) the chicken pox, and I had never quite forgiven him for ruining my…I don't even remember. It didn't seem important why I hated him, it just seemed important that I did.

Upon our arrival in the house, I was greeted (perhaps that's not the right word) by the Wildcats, who had, thankfully, dropped the whistles and cheers. I followed Troy and Chad down the hall. Troy stopped at the end of it, evidently not remembering which door he was looking for.

"Which room are you looking for, Troy?" I asked, sighing.

"The one with all the quaint little figurines," he said.

"Third door on the left," I said. "You know the word 'quaint'?" Chad laughed. Troy blushed furiously and went through the aforementioned door, behind which we found Sharpay, Zeke, Jason, and Kelsi. I secretly wondered where it was that Gabriella had gone, but without caring too much. They all looked at us as we filed in. I sat down in one of the fluffy armchairs that lined the room. The room's purpose was definitely lost on me, but Mom is an interior decorator, so we had plenty of rooms like this one. Everyone's eyes were still on me. "What's up, guys?" I asked them, not sure I wanted to know the answer. No one said a word. Finally, Sharpay stood up.

"I guess congratulations are in order," she said, grimly. I had no idea what she was referring to.

"Um, thanks. Congratulations for what?" I asked, again not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"For picking a side of the closet, man," said Chad. I was surprised to hear him, of all the people in the room, say that, especially after out talk. It really seemed like he wasn't going to tell anyone.

"Granted, I have to say, I always thought it we be the other side," said Sharpay. _Ah, yes, cynicism at my cost. If only she knew about the thought in my head…no! Those thoughts are not in my head. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton. I do not have a crush on Troy Bolton._ I willed myself to believe it, and I probably would have, if he had not been standing right there.

"Okay. Thanks, guys. For, uh, being so supportive?" I said. "Although, I have to ask, if I had come down on the other side, would we still be here having this conversation?" I looked around the room for answers. Jason looked skeptical. Kelsi was smiling and nodding, as were Chad and Sharpay. Zeke was looking a little put off, but I could tell he was on board. The only person left in the room to look at was Troy. As much as I didn't want to, I felt I should. I looked up at him. His face was that of acceptance, nothing more. He was straight. And so was I. There was nothing I could do to change that. "Um, thanks again, then. Uh, I hate to bring her up, but, uh, where's Gabi?"

"Taylor took her home. She said that she didn't want to stay," said Kelsi. I looked at her. Kelsi was probably the only girl I liked to talk to. We'd have chats backstage after rehearsals, we'd go shopping together. Sometimes, well, most of the time, she was more like a sister to me than Sharpay was. Don't get me wrong, Sharpay is my twin, and I love her (sometimes) and we'll always have that "twin thing" but Kelsi was a good friend through thick and thin. Back in the room, where no one knew of my thoughts, Kelsi was apparently still talking. "And, you know, that's not really even a big surprise, given where she's coming from," she finished. The entire room, besides Jason, was now looking at me, as if for an answer.

"I'm sorry, Kels, I didn't hear a word of what you just said," I said. Kelsi laughed, and I did too. "I was, uh, thinking."

"Case in point," Kelsi said. I was so confused. "Just kidding. I was just saying some stuff about Gabi. What she did to you was really mean."

"Um, no kidding," said Chad. I was surprised that he would take this stance about Gabriella, especially in front of Troy, his best friend since preschool. "She's a bitch, man, forget about her." Troy was just smiling along and laughing with everyone else. But I knew how he felt inside. Cheated. Horrible. Worthless. _And it really does serve him right. He's an ass, she's a bitch. No wonder they were junior prom king and queen. Instead of me and Sharpay, like it should have been. The nerve!_ But there was still senior prom, and I was determined as ever to make Troy Bolton see the error of his ways.

* * *

It was now after dinner. Only Troy, Chad, Sharpay, and I were left at my house. And the staff, of course. I really didn't see why Troy and Chad were still there. They could have left long ago, when Zeke and Jason did, or even when Kelsi had finally put the lid on the piano down and left. Somehow, they were both still here, and I was getting pretty nervous, because, quite frankly, I wasn't exactly sure what to say to them. Everything that was going to be said had already been said. I wasn't even exactly sure _where_ they were at the house, just _that_ they were at the house. I was sitting alone in the lounge, wondering where Sharpay had gotten off to, when I heard giggles from the dining room. I walked over to the door that led to there and listened. Two voices seemed to be speaking in rather hushed whispers. The only one I could recognize was Sharpay's; she had been the one to giggle. I had the very strong impression that Troy was the other one in there. I shook my head and exited the lounge through the door that led to the hall. I found Chad sitting on the stairs, rather glum looking.

"What's up, Chad?" I asked. He looked at me, as though very surprised to see me. He then looked up.

"The ceiling, and presumably, someone's bedroom," he said.

"Actually, that's my and Sharpay's bathroom. Good guess though, for never having actually been up there," I said, laughing. He laughed too. "But seriously, why so glum?"

"Troy," said Chad.

"Ah yes. The end-all be-all of misery today, I fear. Well, besides Gabriella," he looked at me, evidently impressed that I couldn't stand to utter her whole name, or that I would even bring her up. "But enough about me. Why's he bugging you?"

"Taylor took her car when she…you know…left," Chad began. I nodded.

"Chad, it's okay to mention her. She's not, like, Macbeth, or something," I said, hoping he would catch the reference.

"Yeah, anyways, Taylor took her car and Troy promised me a ride home since Taylor drove me here, and he's been doing…something…for the last, like, hour and a half. And, dude, no offense, your house is awesome, but I'm getting bored," Chad said.

"Ah yes. That happens after a while, I'm afraid. The inevitable boredom of the Evans' Mansion," I said. "Seriously, you're bored?" Chad nodded.

"I've been through, like, every room twice," he said.

"Well, you can't have found every room, or you'd still be in the workout room," I said.

"There's a workout room?" asked Chad.

"Yeah, it's next to the Yoga room. Wanna see it?" I asked. He nodded and got up off the stairs. As we passed the double doors the led into the dining room, Sharpay giggled again. I stopped dead. I thought I had heard my name.

"What, dude?" Chad asked.

"Sh. I think I heard my name," I whispered, barely audible. Evidently he got the message, because he stood very still, and we both tried to catch more snippets of conversation. Nothing all that good came. Some more giggling from Sharpay, but that was all the discernable words we were able to get out. Eventually, I gave up and we started walking again. We were about halfway down the hall when the dining room doors opened. I turned around and saw a still giggling Sharpay hanging off of Troy's arm. Yes, it was common knowledge that she still had a thing for him, but the sight still surprised me. Troy seemed to have spotted us, though, because he stood up straight and cleared his throat.

"Chad, ready to go?" he asked. Chad looked like he was sad that he didn't get to see the workout room, but he sighed.

"I guess," he said.

"Bye, Troy," giggled Sharpay, and she flitted up the stairs. Chad rolled his eyes. There were more important things on my mind. Like how hot _I_ thought Troy was, and whether or not that was normal. Chad sighed at look on my face, gave me a "It's never going to happen, get over it" type look, but didn't move. He seemed to have forgotten that Troy was about to take him home.

"Uh, guys? You had better get home before your parents kill you. And don't think that just because you're my friends I'll let you off with being late to work tomorrow," I said. Chad and I laughed. Troy seemed to have missed the joke, but chuckled anyways. Both he and Chad made their way back down the hall in the direction of the front doors and Troy's truck. I waved at their backs, knowing full well that they wouldn't see. When I heard the door slam shut, I exhaled. _Well, Ryan, that sure was interesting. Let's hope you never have to do that again. Entertaining Chad and Troy for a whole day? Let's just be happy that's all it was._

I walked up the stairs and made the right turn that would take me to Sharpay's room. I sighed at the pink door knocker that was on her door. I ignored it and just knocked. Eventually, she came and opened it.

"Yes?" she asked, evidently wondering why I hadn't just come right in, like I usually do.

"We need to talk," I said. I walked into her room and shut the door.

**A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading!!**


	4. Let's talk

I walked into Sharpay's room, shut the door, and sat down on her pink couch. It matched the rest of her room. Pink.

"What's up, Ryan?" she asked me. I looked up.

"The ceiling. That really hideous pink mobile that you've had forever," I replied.

"Funny, Ryan. Seriously, why do we need to talk?" she asked. I sighed. This was really a conversation I should have been having with Kelsi, but Sharpay was currently readily available, and she would have found out anyways.

"A few things. First, the Troy thing," I said. She sighed.

"So, what about him?" she said.

"What about him?! He's got a girlfriend, Sharpay. And with everything else going on, he really doesn't need you adding to his problems," I said.

"Okay," said Sharpay. "But don't you tell me he doesn't deserve it."

"I'm not saying he doesn't," I said. "I know he does. And Gabi does too. But you shouldn't have to put up with them. I shouldn't either, but I do, Shar, and you can do so much better than me."

"Well, yes, obviously," said Sharpay. I rolled my eyes.

"So, second point. The, uh, straight thing," I said. It was Sharpay's turn to roll her eyes. She also snorted.

"So, you really aren't, are you?" she asked.

"No! I am straight. I have to be! I slept with Gabriella, didn't I?" I said.

"Well, you _were_ pretty drunk. That doesn't prove a thing," said Sharpay.

"You know, speaking of that, if I _was_ gay, wouldn't I drink something fancier than beer? Like…Appletinis? Aren't those gay drinks?" I said.

"J.D., from Scrubs, that's his favorite drink, and he considers it a "straight-guy drink". They are, however, typically consumed by gay men," said Sharpay. I was surprised she'd ever seen Scrubs.

"Anyways, damn you for always agreeing with the voices in my head. And Wikipedia," I mumbled. She was always right and she knew everything. I was surprised she hadn't hunted me down and informed me I was gay yet.

"Let's face it, Ryan. You and girls? Seriously. Do you even like girls?" she asked.

"No, but I want to," I admitted.

"Taking that whole Gabriella thing pretty hard, huh?" she asked.

"Well, yeah. It wasn't fair. Do we know why she did it?" I asked.

"No idea. No one really wants to ask her," said Sharpay. I sighed.

"Okay, that being resolved, sort of, which was my third point, we come to point number four," I said. Sharpay groaned.

"There's still more? I need sleep, Ry," she said.

"Okay, Shar. We'll talk tomorrow. We're taking you car back to the club, right?" I asked.

"Well, considering that's the one we took here, we probably should," she said.

"Okay. Good night," I said. I got off her couch and went back into my own room.

* * *

The next morning found me walking into the Lava Springs Country Club's kitchen.

"Ah, children. How goes the food preparation?" I asked.

"Oui, dude, les preparations du les food goes bonne!" said Chad. I laughed.

"Thought you took German," I said.

"French is more waiter-ish don't'cha think?" Chad said.

"Ah, oui!" I said. "Very Beauty and the Beast." Chad laughed. "Have you seen Kelsi? I need to talk to her."

"Just finished playing breakfast, what's up?" said Kelsi from behind me. I jumped.

"Can we talk?" I asked. She nodded. I was finally going to have the conversation with Kelsi that I had been trying to have for the last 24 hours. We walked up to my bedroom, where we would be private and free from eavesdroppers. I sat down on my bed, and Kelsi took one of the various comfy chairs. My room at Lava Springs was very different from my room at home.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Kelsi asked.

"Honestly, I thought you'd have figured it out by now," I said.

"Oh. It's about Troy, isn't it?" said Kelsi.

"Lucky guess, or did you actually know?" I asked her. She smiled.

"I knew. I mean, have you seen the way you stare at his ass? Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever caught you looking at a girl," she said.

"That's why I need you to help me," I said.

"Oh, wait. Let me guess," said Kelsi. "Since I'm your best friend, and I'm oh-so-single, you're hoping I'll be your 'girlfriend' to make sure you're gay." The air quotes really hurt.

"Basically," I said. "Please, Kelsi, you're my very best friend."

"And that coupled with the way you dress and the way you stare at guys' asses all the time isn't enough to tell you're gay?" she asked. I shook my head. I was going to be insanely stubborn about this. "Fine, I'll do it. Are you going to ask me properly, or are we just going to go?" I got off my bed, and walked over to her.

"Kelsi Aisha Nielson, will you be my girlfriend?" I asked.

"Sure, why not?" she said, laughing. She got up and we went back downstairs. I stopped outside the kitchen and took a deep breath. I held out my hand. Kelsi giggled and took it as we entered the kitchen. It was around 10:30. I thought snack was in order.

"Zeke! Can we have a snack?" I asked.

"Coming right up!" he replied. Chad, who was passing by, stopped dead. There wasn't really anyone else around.

"Um, dude?" Chad asked, tentatively.

"She knows, Chad," I said. "This is my experiment." Chad nodded.

"Okay? Um, Troy wants to talk to you about Gabi sometime," he said.

"That's nice. I'll talk to him when I find time," I said. Kelsi gave me a look. "Kels, I know he still blames me for Saturday night, and I'm not sure if I even want to talk to him." She kept looking at me. "Fine. I'll talk to him during his afternoon break, Chad. Tell him that, if you would, please." Chad walked back into the dining room. Zeke came over with our food.

"Congrats, you guys, I guess," he said. Kelsi smiled.

"Thanks," she said, shyly. She and I dug into our snacks. When we were finished, I sighed. "What?"

"I have to go and talk to Gabi," I said. "And I'm so not looking forward to it."

"Good luck, then," Kelsi said. "Sweetie," she added, winking. I laughed.

"Bye, hun," I said. I got up and walked out to the pool area to find Gabriella.

* * *

I walked around the back of the lifeguard's station at the pool. There was Gabriella, sitting in her lifeguard's chair, with her back turned to me. I walked up behind her.

"Hey," I said. She jumped about a mile. I laughed. She turned around.

"Oh, hey, Ryan, baby. What do you want?" she said.

"First of all, let's get one thing straight, if you call me 'baby' or anything like that ever again, I'll get someone to do something to you, as it upsets me, Kelsi, and probably, Troy," I said. "Second, I need to talk to you about Saturday night."

"Why would Kelsi care?" Gabriella asked. I sighed.

"That's my girlfriend, doofus," I said. "Seriously, Saturday night."

"Fine. Saturday night. Me and Troy broke up, and you and me ended up in bed together," she said.

"Gabriella, you know full well that is not all that happened," I said. "Why the hell did you kiss me in the first place?"

"I thought you liked me. You're always staring, and you were really nice this summer," she said. "Guess I was wrong."

"Gabriella, even if I did like you, which I didn't, that doesn't exactly justify what you did," I said.

"You seemed to be enjoying it," she said.

"Well, I…really?" I asked. This surprised me. _Must have been all the alcohol._

"Yeah. Probably just the alcohol, then, right?" she said.

"Yeah, um, probably. So, how did we end up in my room?" I asked.

"Well, we were making out in the living room, and you had, like, four more beers, and Troy was staring at us, so I suggested we go upstairs," she said. I nodded. "We were sitting in your room. I wasn't really planning on doing anything. I never had a real boyfriend before Troy, and he wouldn't, well…let's not go there." She stopped talking and observed the pool, to make sure no one was drowning. When she saw no one was, she resumed her speech. "You had another beer in your hand, and you drained the entire thing and lay down on your bed, evidently quite content on sleeping right then and there." She laughed. "I lay down beside you, and before long we were making out again, and…well, there you are." Her story seemed pretty believable.

"So, you're sorry, right?" I asked.

"Sorry? For what?" she asked. I sighed in frustration.

"I have been apologizing to _your_ boyfriend for the better part of a day and a half, and in fact, I have an appointment to go and talk to him later," I said. "Now, see, it's not even really my fault, so why have I been apologizing?" I looked at her for an answer that didn't come. "Because you're a bitch, that's why." I turned around, not even to look back, and stormed back into the main building. I took the shortcut through the boys' locker rooms to the kitchen. Don't ask me why that's a shortcut, it sounds weird, I know. When I arrived in the kitchen, it seemed that I had been talking with Gabriella for too long, and Kelsi had to go and play for some special luncheon that was happening. I told Chad to have her come and talk to me when she was finished. I went back up to my bedroom and collapsed on my bed.

_This totally sucks. I still can't believe Gabriella did that. And that's she not even sorry. She's such a bitch. I also really can't believe that Troy took her back. I don't want to go and talk to him. He's gonna be really mean. All of this negative energy is bad for my health._ I sat up on my bed and began meditating, like in Yoga class. Eventually, there was a knock on the door. It was Kelsi.

"So, how'd your talk go?" she asked, after she had sat down in her favorite chair.

"Well, I know what happened, if Gabi is to be trusted. I know who, and where, and when, and I know why, if the real reason is that Gabi's a bitch, which I doubt," I said. "What I still don't know is why Troy took her back." I paused for a moment to think. "And why Gabi said I seemed to be enjoying it."

"Maybe you were," she said. I looked at her.

"I thought we said I was gay," I said.

"Hey, you've got a girlfriend," she said.

"Yeah, you. To find out if I am actually gay or not," I reminded. "Speaking of which, we should probably set up a date, then." She shrugged and nodded. "How about tomorrow after you get off from work?"

"Sounds like a plan. Where are we going?" she asked.

"Um, a movie?" I asked. I had never been on a date before and I wasn't exactly sure what you did on one.

"Sure. I think Hairspray's still playing," she said.

"Oh, that was good, wasn't it? We should totally go and see that again," I said.

"It's a plan," she said, smiling. She looked at her watch. "You have to go and talk to Troy in, like, two and a half minutes." I groaned.

"Do I have to? I don't want to," I said.

"Think of it this way, if you go and talk to him, there's a possibility you can stare at his ass," she said. I frowned.

"I'm trying not to think about that, Kelsi, thanks," I said. She laughed. She got up and accompanied me out to the golf course, where Troy was just finishing his lesson. She smiled at me for luck, and then left for the kitchen again.

**A/N: No big cliffhanger this time...sorry. This gets better...really, I swear. Thanks for reading! Please Review!!**

**PS: I don't own HSM or Hairspray or Beauty and the Beast or anything else, including the color pink or the characters.**

**Oh, and I do actually speak French, and I'm aware that Chad was using really really bad French, so you need not tell me that what he was trying to say was "La préparation de la nourriture va bien" beacuse I know that, but thanks for the thought.**

**Lots of love, Samantha :) **


	5. More talking, and then some silent times

**A/N: Okay, so there was a fair amount of response since I posted the last "chapter" if you can call it that yesterday or whenever it was. All of this has already been written, but I didn't want to post it all at once. Technically, this is Chapters 10, 11, ****and ****12, I guess, but enough of my rambling, I don't own HSM, or Hairspray, or Scrubs, or anything else. And also, a WARNING, there's one of those "rated" scenes at the end of the chapter, after the second line of dashes. And for anyone who's a Gabriella fan, fear not, she gets her redemption, I think I already know how this will end, it's just a matter of getting them all to that point. Please read and review! **

I waited by the edge of the golf course, regretting anything that was about to happen. Also, I tried really hard not to stare at his ass. And I also wondered about what Gabriella had said about Troy and hers sex life. Until that comment, I had just figured that Gabriella was the one who wouldn't sleep with him, but the comment made it seem like he was the one who wouldn't sleep with her. _That doesn't make a lot of sense. Unless he's gay. But he's not. He's straight. Like me. We have girlfriends. Ergo, we are straight. Straight as something really straight. Like Chad. As straight as Chad._

Troy had finished teaching the junior golfers and walked over to where I was standing. "Alright, Evans, let's talk," he said.

"Okay, where?" I asked.

"Here's good," he said.

"There are people here," I whined. He sighed and motioned for me to follow him. We walked to the middle of the eighth fairway, which was nearby.

"This private enough for you, Evans?" he said.

"Yeah, sure," I said. I hadn't really cared if there were people around, but whining about it had been fun. _Maybe Sharpay does have a point._ "So, we need to talk."

"Yes, I gathered that," said Troy. "I needed to talk to you first, so I'll go first." There was a pause where I was apparently supposed to say something.

"Go on," I said.

"So, I was talking to Chad last night. And you're gonna have to answer some questions," he said. _Oh, God, what if Chad told him? What if he figured it out? Shit._ "Ready?" I nodded. How could I possibly be ready? I didn't know what he was going to ask. "First, about Gabi. What is this thing?"

"Um, what?" I asked. I didn't really understand the question.

"What is this thing that you two seem to have? Or had, I guess," he clarified. I sat down on the grass, and he followed suit. I could tell this was going to be a long conversation.

"Well, Saturday night was, uh, well, I talked to Gabi, and I got the whole story, if you really want to hear it…" I began.

"Not really, Evans," said Troy. I breathed I sigh of relief. I didn't really want to tell it. "I just want to know about before, like before the talent show, and stuff."

"Well, I was just trying to do the right thing. I was being nice. When your twin sister cuts you out of the show and instead starts singing with Mr. Troy Bolton, big shot, scoring his touchdowns–" I began.

"I don't even play football," Troy said.

"Whatever. When that happens, it's common courtesy to join up with the big shot's other people, because he bailed on them, and you be nice and coordinate their number, because, quite frankly, the big shot's other people are not so good with the rhythm and the keeping in time," I said. "I was being _nice_, Troy. Yes, I'm sure it comes as a big surprise. I am capable of being nice. It might also come as a shock to you that I have a first name, as well. It's Ryan, in case you'd forgotten. Does that about answer your question?"

"So you never liked Gabriella?" he asked. I shook my head. "Okay, that makes me feel a little better, although a little like crap for being so rude yesterday." _Sure._ "Then why'd you get us back together?"

"Revenge on Sharpay, mostly," I said. "That and being nice, again."

"Revenge?" he asked.

"When Shar squashed me out of the show, I was pissed. So, in retaliation, kill three birds with one stone," I said.

"Whoa, _three_ birds?" he said.

"Yeah," I said. I began counting on my fingers. "One, squash Sharpay back. Two, ruin her chances with you. Three, get you and Gabi back together." I waggled my fingers in front of his face. "Three."

"Aren't two and three basically the same thing?" he asked. I frowned.

"Well, there's also Zeke," I said.

"Ah, yes," he said. "So, I heard about you and Kelsi. Good for you. I've been waiting for that to happen for a while."

"Uh, thanks, Troy," I said. "So, you never thought I was gay?"

"Uh…well, yes and no," he said. "Yes, in the way that…well, look at you. Really. But then again, no, you just couldn't be. You drink beer for God's sake. If you were gay, wouldn't you be drinking something fancy, like Appletinis? Isn't that what the gays drink?" I laughed.

"You know, I said the exact same thing last night," I said. "That's twice now that we've said the same things."

"I guess so. You know, great minds think alike," he said. We both laughed. "You're a good guy, Ryan."

"Um, thanks, Troy," I said. I didn't know exactly what to say to that.

"We should hang out more. When's the next staff baseball game?" he asked. I laughed.

"Thursday. Why? Are you gonna play this time?" I asked.

"Maybe," he said.

"Yeah, well, with you on the other team, I'm sure my team will win this team," I said.

"No way. You are going down," he said.

"Oh yeah? Well, you're going downer!" I said. He raised an eyebrow.

"We'll see," he said. He looked down at his wrist. "Oh, man, I gotta get back to work. Did you have any more questions?"

"Uh, not really," I said. "You know you're not wearing a watch, right?" He looked at me like I was insane.

"Dude, it's 2:43. I have to be back at work in two minutes," he said. I looked at my watch, and verified that that was, indeed, the right time, but I wondered how he could possibly know that.

"Yeah, it is. Get back to work, before you get fired," I said.

"You wouldn't let them fire me," he said.

"Sure I would," I said. "Even though you've probably got job security for life as long as Sharpay's around." He laughed and we walked back to the golfing lessons fairway. "See you later, Troy!"

"Bye, Ryan," he said. I walked back inside. _That could have been worse. Actually, it wasn't all that bad at all. Why do I hate him again? Oh, right. That's why._ Kelsi was waiting for me in the piano room next to the kitchen.

"So, how'd it go?" she asked.

"Amazing," I said. "He's actually quite understanding. And he said the same thing that I said last night when I was talking to Sharpay about beer."

"What about beer?" Kelsi said.

"About how it's a straight guy drink, and how if I was gay, I'd be drinking Appletinis," I said.

"Appletini. J.D., the guy from Scrubs, that's his favorite drink. He considers it a straight guy drink, even though they are typically consumed by gay men," said Kelsi.

"And that's exactly what Sharpay said," I said, smiled. Kelsi laughed.

"That's what Wikipedia has to say about them," she explained.

"I know," I said. "Hun," I added, winking. She smiled.

"Ryan, darling, it's time to get some awesome lunch, don't you think?" she said.

"Ah, yes. Shall we announce our relationship to the rest of the staff properly, or do they already know?" I asked.

"It's about half and half. I swear I didn't tell anyone. Except Martha. And Zeke knew, and Chad," she said. "Chad told Taylor, and Gabriella found out. It's spread through most of the basketball team and almost all of the cheerleaders." I laughed.

"Good news travels fast around here then," I said. "And Troy knows too." She looked at me. "He already knew, and he said he was rooting for us."

"Odd," she said.

"I know," I said. "He has got to have the world's worst gaydar." She laughed and we joined hands again, and proceeded into the kitchen, which was full of staff members eating lunch. "Hey kids. What's new?"

"Oh, nothing much," said Taylor. "And you?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just me and Kelsi," I said. Kelsi laughed.

"Congratulations!" was the yell across the room. I rolled my eyes, and Kelsi laughed again.

"Thanks, you guys," she said.

* * *

The next evening I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I was going to be late for my date with Kelsi. I had taken a shower and done my hair, but I couldn't find a good shirt to wear. I had put on a pair of black pants, but I couldn't find a proper shirt. I was looking for this certain polo, a green one. I finally spotted it, still on the hanger in my closet. I grabbed it and put it on. I took the black and green hat from its hook and put it on my head. I looked in the mirror one last time, then grabbed my keys and my cell phone and left my room.

Kelsi was waiting for me in the lobby. She stood up out of her chair when she saw me and smiled. I took her hand.

"How's it going, babe?" I asked.

"Well, both Mr. Fulton and Sharpay have been around asking me what I'm still doing here, but I shook them off," she said. I laughed. We walked outside the club and around the side where my garage was. I decided it was impressive to stand outside the garage and push the garage door opener button on my keys so that if it was a movie, you would put a camera in the garage and the light would silhouette me and Kelsi so that we would look like badasses. I conveyed all of this to Kelsi, who laughed at the thought of us being called badasses.

I drove us to the movies. We didn't really have much to say, but it wasn't awkward. We discussed our favorite parts of Hairspray. Mine was the part where Link gets detention. Kelsi's was the part after that with Tracy and Link in the music shop.

"Yeah, that part's pretty good. How about Without Love?" I asked.

"I'm annoyed at how they cut Tracy's verse of the song," Kelsi said. I nodded. When we had done Hairspray at East Albuquerque Performing Arts Center, I had starred as Link, which was awesome. The movie was, by far, much better.

"Yeah, but the movie's so much better than the play," I said.

"You only think that because of Zac Efron," she said.

"No, I don't! You're not helping this experiment, Kelsi," I said. She laughed. We got to the movies and I bought both tickets, the tub of popcorn, and the drinks. Root beer for me, lemonade for Kelsi. We had been to the movies so many times before that I knew what to get. But this time was different. This was a date.

As we watched the movie, nothing all that interesting happened. My thoughts dwelled on Kelsi. If I had ever liked a girl, she was Kelsi. We had been best friends since, like, forever. She and Sharpay had never gotten along, but Kelsi understood what went on between us. We had had a bit of a falling out just before Christmas break the year before, but we had made upon Triple Threat Day. We had gone shopping.

"Oh, look, Ryan, it's your favorite part," Kelsi said. We had the theatre to ourselves because the movie had been out for so long, and we'd been singing the songs. I was annoyed that they had taken out most of It Takes Two, as that was a fun song to sing. On the screen, Zac Efron, as Link Larkin, stood up.

"Oh and Mr. Larkin," the history teacher, Mr. Flak, said. "Perhaps you'd like to share with the rest of the class Patrick Henry's immortal last words?

"Kiss my ass?" Link said. Kelsi and I cheered.

When the end came, Kelsi and I were singing our hearts out to You Can't Stop the Beat. And then Link and Tracy kissed. I looked at Kelsi. She was just smiling as the credits rolled. I sat back in my chair and listened to the songs. Eventually, the movie was over and we walked back into the lobby.

"That was fun," I said. "Not really date-ish though, I gotta say."

"Mm. Now what?" she asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I was hoping you would."

"I suppose we could go back to your house and lie in the gardens and look at the sky, like we used to," she said. "We haven't done that in a long time."

"Okay, let's do that," I said. We walked out of the lobby and into my car. "Ow."

"You're supposed to use the door, you know," Kelsi reminded me. I frowned and opened Kelsi's door for her. She got in. I shut her door and went around to my side. We drove to the Evans' Mansion. (Yes, even I call it that.) We took some blankets from the linen closet on our way through the house and we laid one of them out in the gardens. I laid down on it, next to Kelsi. We looked up at the stars, and decided to play that game where you see who can spot the first stars, because it wasn't quite dark yet. We just stared at the sky, not doing much talking. It was very relaxing.

"Oh, look, there's one!" Kelsi said, pointing into the west. There it was. The first star.

"It's beautiful," I said.

"Like me?" she asked.  
**  
**"Of course," I said, smiling. She laughed.

"Like Troy?" she asked.

"Kelsi..." I said. She turned on her side to look at me.

"I'm serious, Ryan. Right here, right now, are you attracted to me?" she asked. I rolled over to look at her as well.

"Kelsi, I-" I began.

"Ryan, I'm serious," she said. She looked it. I looked her up and down.

"I don't know, Kelsi," I said.

"Ryan, don't say a word," she said.

"I-" I began. I was not allowed anymore words, however. There were lips on mine.

* * *

After a while, she broke off. "Well?" she demanded.

"I don't know," I said. "Kiss me some more." I liked kissing. It was fun. I had to find out if it was the kissing itself or kissing Kelsi that I liked. She obliged, and we were making out again, coming up for air every so often. Hands were...places. Mine were around her. Hers were attempting to undo the buttons on my polo. I let her. Why not? After all, wasn't that the point? Eventually I was shirtless, and we were still making out. It felt a little weird. I mean, she's my best friend. But at that moment, she was Kelsi, my girlfriend. Kelsi's lips left mine, and began making their way down my neck to my chest. It was nice, certainly. Enjoyable, even. Not really pleasurable. Eventually her lips returned to mine, and we were making out again. The next time she went up for air, her shirt was gone too. I had no idea how far she was going to go with this. She put her arms around my neck, and we kissed even more fiercely than before. I held her tighter, we rolled over on the ground, until she was on top of me, at which point I was starting to feel uncomfortable with the way things were going. Kelsi's lips left mine again, making another trail down my chest. This time she didn't come back. She say in between my legs not doing anything. I sat up.

"Why'd you stop?" I said.

"I don't know," she said. She went to resume what she had been doing, but I stopped her.

"Look, Kels, I don't think we should be doing this. We're clearly not doing this for the right reasons," I said. "And if that's the case, well…" I trailed off, not wanting to make the comparison that I had in my head.

"So this isn't the ideal reason for doing this. But if we don't try, you'll never know," she said. I sighed. "Look, Ryan, this is fine with me. If it isn't fine with you, then we'll stop, but you're my best friend, and I would do anything for you."

"And I'd do anything for you too, Kels," I said. "Although when we said that, I'm not sure this is what we had in mind." I looked at her face. "Okay, it's not what I had in mind." Kelsi laughed.

"Shall we pick up where we left off then?" Kelsi said. She didn't wait for an answer. She crawled into my lap and began kissing me once again. She pushed me back down. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but eventually, she was pants-less too. This was getting weirder and weirder, but I tried to put that out of my mind. Kelsi was amazing at what she did, with and without a piano. My belt was gone, thrown aside by a combined effort, to join our shoes and hats, which had long since been removed. All the while the kissing grew fiercer and fiercer. The button on my pants seemed to be causing Kelsi some trouble, and there was a pause while she looked at what she was doing. She said, "Ah," and undid it and the zipper as well. My pants joined our other clothes, and we went back to making out, dressed now only in our underwear. Hands were…places again, and it felt good. Amazingly good. Better than that, even.

**A/N: I don't think Kelsi's a slut, and I'm not really sure what to think of Ryan, but let's just say, this was really weird for me to write, especially because at the time I was in a public computer lab. For all of you that have read the whole thing, and there's a fair few, thank you soooo much. Please review! I'll take suggestions if you want to give them, or even a smiley face, or something. After all, we're all in this together. (Or something a lot less cheesy than that.) I'm off to write the rest of Chapter 27, and quite frankly I'm stuck. But there's plenty more before we get there, and I guess now is as good a time as any to say that I've begun work on a PREQUEL! to this story, but I can't say what it's about until after Chapter 20 (Chapter 9 in this version), because it's a secret, but it's already pretty far along as well, for being a prequel to a story that's not even finished. I'll stop boring you now.**

**Cheers, Samantha.**


	6. The Next Morning

**A/N: For Kelsi fans, she definitely gets redemption in this chapter. And Gabi's is still coming, don't worry, no one ends up evil. I hope. And no one ends up dead. (Sorry for the spoiler, but I hate when I finish reading a story after, like, 6 hours of reading and one of the characters end up dead and then I have nightmares about them dying. It's sad.) Please read and review!**

The next morning I woke up, confused about where I was. I looked around. There were clothes scattered everywhere. And there were plenty of plants. _How did plants get in my room?_ I looked around again, and realized we were still in the gardens. It was August, and it had not been cold at all. Kelsi was still asleep beside me. Let's suffice it to say that the night before had been nice. A lot better than my night with Gabriella, that's for sure, being that I could remember it, and I wasn't going to end up hating Kelsi. I rolled over, and Kelsi cuddled closer to me. I smiled. Then, there was a disturbance. There was a phone. It was ringing, and I had to make it stop. When I finally found it, I answered it. "Hello?"

"Ryan, where are you?" asked the phone. It was Sharpay.

"I'm at home, why? Where are you?" I asked.

"At home too," she said. "I meant where are you at home?" I got really scared all of a sudden.

"Um, why do you need me? It's gotta be, like, 7am," I said, taking a stab at the time.

"Actually, it's more like 8:15," she said. "Why didn't you come back last night? And where's Kelsi?" I pondered the answer.

"Um…" I began. I had no idea what to say. "Well, technically, I guess, she's right here, but she's actually asleep at the moment."

"Ryan Evans, you didn't!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Yeah, I kinda did," I said.

"Well, good for you," she said. On my side of the phone, Kelsi was waking up.

"Hey, Shar, can you hold on a sec?" I said. Not waiting for an answer, I covered the mouthpiece on the phone as tightly as I could. "Kelsi, Sharpay's here. It would probably be advisable to put your clothes back on." Kelsi started awake and sat up.

"Whoa, what? Wait, why?" she said.

"I don't know. I'll find out," I said. Kelsi nodded and looked around for her clothes. I uncovered the mouthpiece again. "Shar, you still there?"

"Yeah, Ryan, where else could I go?" she said.

"Why are you here, Shar?" I asked. Kelsi threw my boxers at my head.

"We were supposed to have rehearsals before breakfast this morning, but when the two people most important people, after me, of course, failed to show up, I supposed I had best go looking for them," she said. Kelsi was almost totally dressed. I was just sitting on the mess on blankets holding my boxers.

"Um, okay, Shar, why don't we meet you in the dining room in five?" I said.

"Fine. I'll be there," she said. I hung up the phone and threw it into my hat. I began getting dressed as fast as possible.

"So, we didn't talk much last night. How was that, after all?" Kelsi asked. I thought about it. It had been really nice. I had liked it.

"I liked it, Kels," I said. Kelsi looked half shocked, half amused.

"Really?" she said. I nodded. "Well, if I knew I could do that, I would have done this much sooner." She walked the step or two between us and kissed me. I smiled and put my shirt on. Then I frowned, realizing what she had said.

"Known you could do what?" I said. She didn't say anything. "Kelsi, I'm not gay!" I said. Still, not a word from Kelsi. She just picked up the mess of blankets and started walking back towards the door inside. I sighed and walked after her. We walked through a series of rooms (including the workout room, where Kelsi put the blankets in the dirty laundry chute) and eventually ended up in the dining room, where Sharpay was waiting for us. Kelsi and I sat down at the table, and began serving ourselves from the food that was sitting, buffet-style on the table. I wasn't that hungry, I had a banana and some tatertots.

"So?" Sharpay asked. I looked at her.

"So what?" I replied.

"So what happened last night?" she asked. I laughed.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I said. Sharpay pouted. "It's none of your business, Shar." Sharpay smirked. I had evidently just confirmed what she had already thought.

"So, how is he, Kelsi?" she asked. I blushed bright red.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Kelsi replied, in exactly the same way I had. Sharpay tried pouting again.

"That's gross, Shar," I said. Kelsi laughed. Sharpay scowled. Apparently she wanted some actual verbal confirmation as to what we had done, but she wasn't going to get it from me. That was beyond embarrassing, especially because she's my sister.

After breakfast, I took Kelsi in my car back to Lava Springs, and Sharpay followed us. I had complained to Kelsi that she really should go home and change, but she said that she had extra clothes in her locker. It was really no use trying to talk her out of it. During the drive, we said absolutely nothing to each other. I didn't have anything to say. I was still furious with her, and her thoughts about my sexual orientation. _If anyone should know, I should. She really doesn't have the right to go and say things like that._

When we got to Lava Springs, I parked my car in my garage and we went into the club. I managed to avoid going into the kitchen by saying I needed to go with Sharpay, but then snuck upstairs to my room, where I could be alone. I took a shower and changed my clothes (to a pair of tan/khaki cargo-ish shorts and a navy/sky blue polo, and a matching hat) and sat on my bed. _God, the nerve of Kelsi. To imply that I was gay, and then not even mention it again. I'm not gay! We proved that last night! Although, I have to say, there was not a lot of "pleasure" until much later than I expected. "Enjoyment", yes, but not really "pleasure"._ I must have dwelled on that for a very long time, because when I was brought down to earth by someone knocking at my door, it was much later in the morning.

"Who is it?" I called, not really wanting to get up and open the door myself.

"It's me. Can I come in?" the knocker said. I scowled.

"Sure," I said. Kelsi walked into my room and sat in her favorite chair. "What do you want now?" I demanded.

"Well, I was coming up here to apologize. I'm sorry. I don't want to believe you're gay any more than you do," she said. I snorted. "Really. That's…a cover up." I looked at her.

"A cover up for what?" I said, knowing I wasn't going to like the answer.

"Love," she said.

"Excuse me?" I replied. Kelsi smiled, evidently thinking of the song Chip on my Shoulder from Legally Blonde. "Okay, Elle and Emmett aside…what?"

"Love, Ryan. That's it," she said. "I put my faith in love. I followed where it led."

"Love led you here?" I said, regretting continuing the song, although that's what I would've said in the particular context.

"To my personal circle of hell. It has not worked out well. I wish that I were dead," she said, following the lyrics of the song. She stopped there, though.

"You're not going to finish?" I asked. "Cuz instead of a wedding and love, I'm flunking out of school, a total laughing stock. Someone he and his friends can just mock. So, go on, here's my head. Just hit it with a rock." She shook her head.

"Not that part. Just the first part. I wasn't planning on the wedding, and I'm not flunking out of school," she said. I mulled over the first part of the song.

"So, what does that mean?" I asked.

"God, you're so thick, you could be straight," she said. "You, Ryan. Durr."

"You. Love. Me," I said, taking a long pause between each word, not really getting the connection. "Oh, you love me." She applauded in mock celebration. "Oh. Well, oh. This is kind of awkward, then, isn't it?"

"Oh, no, not at all," she said, her voice ripe with sarcasm. She looked on the verge of tears. I felt really sorry for her. I walked over to where she sat and put my arm around her. She scowled at it.

"I'm…really not sure what to say in this particular situation. This would usually be the sort of thing I would ask your advice on," I said. Kelsi didn't say anything. "I'm not sure, but I think it's worse when you don't say anything, than when you're making gay jokes." That made her smile, at least.

"Ryan, I don't know. I think I'm making the gay jokes because I'm insecure about my love," she said. Every time she mentioned the L-word I got a little more uncomfortable.

"Okay," I said. "I guess I can accept the jokes then."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, I don't know what I'd do if you were gay. Fuck love," she said. I was surprised. I had never heard her drop the F-bomb before.

"Um, wow. I can tell you're really upset," I said. She looked at me. "I'm sorry, Kelsi, I can't tell if I love you." She nodded.

"That's what I thought," she said. "Don't ever fall in love with someone you know you can't have. It hurts."

"Kelsi, I love you, of course I do, just not the way you do. I mean, last night aside, I love you like a sister. Like my best friend. I just don't think that…" I said.

"Ryan, it's fine. I'm totally fine with it," she said. "It's been a while."

"How long?" I asked. She looked up at the ceiling as she counted.

"Two years, a month, and 26 days," she said.

"That's amazing," I said. "You could count that up in your head?" She nodded. I attempted to do some math. "So, today's August 8, 2007, therefore making that…June 13, 2005?"

"Actually, it was June 11th. Did I get my math wrong? Sorry," she said.

"So, that's a pretty long time. How did you manage to keep that a secret for so long?" I asked.

"Were you not listening to everything I've said for the last four days? You were always staring at Troy's ass, and I'm pretty good at keeping secrets. Remember the talent show? Remember freshman year, when we kept that secret from Sharpay for so long that she lost interest?" she asked. I nodded. That had been fun.

"Kelsi, I'm so, so sorry," I said. She just shook my arm from around her shoulder.

"I said it's fine. I'm over it," she said.

"You don't look over it," I said. "You look really upset." She didn't say anything. "Look," I said, kissing her, "I'm not gay, so it's fine. You're still my girlfriend, right?" She looked at me.

"See, that's just the problem," she said. "You are gay." _Ouch._ "It's true, and don't you try to deny it." I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off. "Ryan, I know it, okay? It's not up to me. Just let me be…" She was done speaking, but I didn't know what to say.

"Legally Blonde?" I said. That's how the song goes. It's not up to me, just let me be, Legally Blonde. Kelsi gave a weak chuckle. She looked like she was going to burst into tears any second. "You're not going to pull an Elle on me, are you?" She shook her head. "Okay, good."

"Ryan, this isn't just something you can blow off. Repeat after me," she said. I sighed. "I, Ryan Alexander Evans, am gay." I sighed again.

"I, Ryan Alexander Evans, am gay," I said.

"And there's nothing that Kelsi or anyone else can do about it, no matter how much they love me," she said.

"Kelsi–" I began.

"Say it!" she commnanded, with Sharpay-like intensity.

"And there's nothing that Kelsi or anyone else can do about it, no matter how much they love me," I said. This wasn't fair. I wasn't gay.

"Thank you," she said. "Now, I think it's appropriate that we breakup."

"Kelsi, this is ridiculous. I'm not gay!" I said.

"Yes, you are!" she argued. "I know!"

"Wouldn't I know? This is me we're talking about here. I should know, shouldn't I?" I said.

"But do you really?" she asked. I thought about it.

"No," I said. "But I'm not going to make this…really drastic lifestyle change…without a little more proof than you 'know'."

"You need proof?" Kelsi said. "Fine. Let's go find Troy." I'm pretty sure my eyes widened in horror. I got up from beside Kelsi and backed towards my bed.

"No," I said. "We are not bringing Troy into this."

"Aha. I win. Case in point," Kelsi said. "Just look at your eyes."

"What?" I said. "That's not fair." I collapsed onto my bed.

"That's totally fair," she said, laughing in spite of herself. "It's just common knowledge, Ryan. Before Sunday, everyone knew, or thought they knew, you were gay."

"Technically, not Gabriella and Troy," I said.

"Really?" she said. This was apparently news to her. "Hmm, remind me to talk to them later." I rolled my eyes. She had apparently gotten up, because her face came into my field of vision.

"Kelsi, I think we've proved several times over that I am not gay," I said.

Except for your crush on Troy," she said.

"So maybe I'm bi," I said.

"I still say you're gay," she said. I started to protest but she climbed on top of me and cut me off. "Can you honestly say that girls turn you on?" She was doing something that I couldn't identify and it felt good. "Do you like this?"

"Yeah," I managed to say.

"Are you thinking about me, or are you thinking about Troy?" she asked.

"Oh, God, Troy," I said, without thinking. Kelsi laughed and stopped what she was doing. "What? I-oh my god. You were right. Dammit, I hate it when you're right." And that's when I realized I was gay.

* * *

"Kelsi, you can't tell anyone. I'm not ready for this part yet. Please, Please, PLEASE?" I begged.

"Fine," she agreed reluctantly. "But if I'm gonna do this, you're gonna stay my boyfriend."

"Deal," I said. A small price to pay for not getting beat up by the jocks every day. As if two men getting married somehow makes anyone else's marriage less sacred. That's just bullshit. "Bullshit, that's what it is."

"What is?" Kelsi asked.

"Just all this marriage is between one man and one woman nonsense," I said.

"Aww, look at you. You're already thinking about marriage," Kelsi said.

"Kelsi, I'm not….oh, you're doing it again. Would you quit that…oh that feels good," I said. She was doing whatever it was that she was doing again.

"Okay," Kelsi said. She stopped abruptly.

"That's not fair," I said. She grinned and sat down beside me. "So what happens now?"

"Not sure exactly. Just don't hit on Troy," she said.

"Funny," I said. "Should probably notify Chad. He'll probably be happy."

"Him and his bets?" Kelsi asked.

"Bets in the plural? How many are there?" I said. Kelsi shrugged.

"A few," she said. "I think it's lunchtime."

"Not to change the subject, of course," I said. We got up and made our way down to the kitchen. "Hey, Chad," I said to Chad. "Exactly how many bets do you have out on me right now?"

"A few," he said. "I think it's lunchtime." _Uh-huh._

"Excuse me," I said to the kitchen at large. They all paused what they were doing. "Hi. Yeah, how many of you are currently involved in a bet that concerns me?" Hands went up all over the room. "Yeah, okay. Easier question. Who is _not_ involved in one of said bets?" Only Chef Michael raised his hand. "Well then. That's…nice. Chad, can I talk to you?" I pulled him into the piano room.

"What, dude?" he asked.

"_Dude_, what's with the bets?" I said.

"What? They're just fun, man," Chad said.

"Fine, whatever," I said. "Chad, look, I'm about to tell you something and you might freak out, but don't. And also, you can't tell anyone."

"What, dude?" Chad said. I took a deep breath.

"I'm gay," I said.

**A/N: Poor Chad. Really. Stuff always happens to him. How will he react? Stay tuned for the next general installment of the Board of Secrets. The title will eventually make sense, by the way. Oh, and I don't own HSM or the characters, even though I really, really wish I did, because then I could make the third one the way I wanted. I should be posting another story soon (a Ryella). I also don't own Legally Blonde (the musical) or the characters or the lyrics of the songs, or the songs themselves, even though I do own a copy of the soundtrack, and I highly recommend picking one up (iTunes is where I got mine). **

**PS. When I was picking the date for Kelsi's revelation, I picked the date arbitrarily, but also because something similar happened to me on that date, and then I guessed how may days it actually was (26) and then I went to a calendar and counted and I was right, except for it was a 2008 calendar (oops). So it's actually 28 days. Fun fact, or at least I thought it was.**

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**

**Samantha.  
**


	7. Chad, the pool, and a baseball game

**A/N: Okay, so there was, like, an amazing response to the last chapter, and I meant to put this one up yesterday, but I forgot.**

"I'm gay," I said. There was a pause.

"What's today?" Chad said. I thought this an odd response.

"August 8th?" I said. Chad took out a sheet of white paper from his pocket and wrote down the date and next to it what I'm pretty sure read "Ryan admits he's gay". "Chad what did I say about the bets?"

"This isn't for the bets. This goes on my calendar. Taylor convinced me to make a calendar of important events. I think this qualifies," he said. I sighed. "Congratulations, man. That has got to be a record. You were straight for, what, four days?"

"What part of 'you can't tell anyone' do you not understand?" I asked.

"Don't worry, man. I got your back," Chad said. "I won't tell a soul."

"Thank you," I said.

"Does Kelsi know?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, but…that's complicated, too," I said. "Love," I added to Chad's face. Chad nodded.

"So she finally told you?" Chad asked. "Who had two years, a month and 26 days?"

"It's 28 days. Can no one around here do math?" I asked. "I thought I was the dumb one." Chad pulled a sheet of yellow paper and looked down it. He chuckled and folded the piece of paper back up. I rolled my eyes.

"So, who won?" I asked.

"I don't really want to tell you," Chad said.

"Tell me," I said, with an attempt to command respect, like Sharpay, although it was _not_ working.

"You're not gonna like it," he said.

"Just tell me anyways," I whined.

"Troy," Chad said.

"Troy was in on this one?" I asked. "How did you guys even know about it?"

"We have our sources," Chad said.

"Come on," I said.

"Okay. Since middle school, me and the other basketball guys have been running an underground organization for collecting best. We get people's secrets and take bets on how long it takes for them to admit them," Chad said.

"And you didn't have one on when I would admit I was gay?" I asked, incredulously.

"No, we took that as a given. We had the one about you and Troy," he said.

"And Troy doesn't know about that one, does he?" I asked.

"Um, actually he does, but he thinks it's a big joke," Chad said.

"Interesting," I said. "When was his bet?"

"Actually, it hasn't gone by yet," Chad said, taking out the yellow piece of paper again and looking down it. "He has August 11, 2007. Oh, that's Saturday. If there ever was a good day to admit feelings for Troy, I'd say that's it."

"Isn't that Taylor's birthday?" I asked. Chad frowned and took the white sheet out of his pocket.

"So it is," Chad said. "You could do it at her birthday party. Me and Taylor could set it up, so it's not weird."

"Chad, that's not exactly…" I began. "I don't know. Can I get back to you on that? And just for my sanity, as well as everyone else's, do not tell anyone about this, capisce?"

"Yup," said Chad. "Are you gonna let me go back to work now?"

"Um, actually I do have one question," I said.

"What?" Chad asked.

"So, you probably know that Gabi and Troy never slept together, right?" I said.

"Yeah. One of the few things we're actually not having bets on," Chad said. "And, dude, I think everyone knew they weren't sleeping together."

"Do you know why?" I asked.

"Gabi wouldn't sleep with him," Chad said, like that was the easiest question in the world to answer.

"Well, actually, that's not true," I said. "Gabi said that Troy wouldn't sleep with her." Chad looked at me.

"Interesting. Would you like to be the first to bet on a reason why?" Chad asked.

"He's gay?" I asked, laughing. "Shot in the dark, fingers crossed."

"Good enough to enter the bet," Chad said. "If we get enough people, the entrance fee is a dollar.

"Ooh, might not have any of those," I joked. Chad laughed. "Go back to work." He went back into the kitchen, and I sat down on the piano bench. Kelsi walked in.

"So?" she asked. I sighed. _Why do people always have to walk in one me when I'm trying to do something? Why are said people always either Kelsi or Chad?_

"So what?" I asked.

"So, how was your talk?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, fine. Troy's gonna be a richer man tomorrow, but other than that, just normal," I said.

"Ooh, which bet did he win?" Kelsi asked.

"The one about you," I said.

"Damn. He had two years, a month, and 26 days?" Kelsi said.

"28! 28 days! Why can no one add?" I asked the room at large, even though the only occupants were me and Kelsi. "Oh, and Chad's starting a new bet, if you wanna get in on it."

"About what?" Kelsi asked, evidently intrigued.

"About why Troy wouldn't sleep with Gabi," I said.

"Hmm. That one could take a lot of thought," she said. I rolled my eyes. "He wants to save his virginity for someone special?"

"Don't look at me, I don't know. Wait, what?!" I asked. "Troy's not a virgin. He's been with, like, half the cheerleading squad. And Sharpay."

"Know that one for a fact?" Kelsi asked me.

"I-Yeah. Well, no. How do you know?" I asked. She shrugged and looked at the ceiling. "You're kidding right? Troy cannot possibly be–"

"Cannot possibly be what?" Troy asked, coming through the door at that precise moment.

"Damn, you were right. He was coming," I said. "How do you do that, Kels?" Kelsi didn't say anything. Troy looked between us.

"Hey, guys, guess I never said congratulations properly," he said.

"Um, did you talk to Chad?" I asked.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"You might want to do some math," I said.

"It's August 8th…that means…what is it, two years, a month and 28 days?" Troy asked.

"Thank you. Finally someone can do math," I praised.

"Sweetness. Money for me," Troy said.

"You guessed two years, a month, and 28 days exactly?" Kelsi asked.

"I don't remember. It was like two years ago. Anyways, I'll catch you guys later," said Troy, leaving the room. I didn't say anything until I was sure he was gone.

"Look, Kelsi, just look at the facts. Troy's older than I am. There's no way he's still a virgin," I said.

"Why not? You were," Kelsi said.

"Okay, how does everyone know that?" I asked, very disgruntled. "Did Chad have a bet on when I'd lose my virginity?" Kelsi thought.

"I don't think so," she said. "Maybe."

"Peachy," I said. "Just peachy." There was silence. "Um, speaking of virginity, were–"

"No," Kelsi said. "I wasn't."

"Then–" I began.

"Jason," she said. I nodded understandingly.

"Me neither. Gabriella," I said. Kelsi laughed. There was some more silence. "So…"

"February. Jason and I had been going out for a while, and…you know," she said. There was a pause while I contemplated this information.

"Was Chad taking bets?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Nope. Convinced him not to," Kelsi said. "He is taking bets on Sharpay's though."

"But her and Zeke–" I began.

"Nope," Kelsi said.

"Interesting," I said. "How do you know?"

"Well, there's the bet," Kelsi said. "And then there's Zeke."

"What, does he complain about how he's not getting any?" I asked.

"Not right out. But it's there," she said.

"And she never slept with Troy?" I said.

"Not once," Kelsi said.

"How do you know this stuff?" I asked.

"We have our sources," Kelsi said. I rolled my eyes. They must have all been told what to say if someone asked them this kind of stuff.

"Okay then. I can tell none of you are ever going to give me answers," I said.

"Nope," Kelsi said. "Oh, look at the time. I have to get back to work." She left. I sat contemplating life and other things, when there was screaming coming from somewhere.

* * *

I got up at the sound of the screams and sighed. It was Sharpay and she was yelling for me. _If she keeps doing that, she's going to get laryngitis again._ I walked out to the lobby to find Sharpay standing there. She looked angry.

"What's up, Shar?" I asked, tentatively.

"We need to talk," she said. _Oh, shit. Who told?_ She pulled me off to her room on the other side of the complex. Her room looked nothing like mine, especially because it was covered in pink sparkles.

"What?" I asked.

"It has just now come to my attention that you may not have been entirely truthful about Saturday night's events," Sharpay said.

"Whoa, what?" I asked. "What happened on Saturday night?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Sharpay asked.

"Because I don't want to. Go talk to Gabriella," I said, getting up.

"Ryan!" Sharpay yelled. I sat back down. "I am asking you nicely. I do not want to have to ask you again."

"I don't know!" I half-yelled. "I don't know, okay?"

"No, that's not okay," Sharpay said. "Gabriella is one of my best friends. Bet you didn't even know that they broke up again, for good this time."

"They what?" I asked. I couldn't believe it.

"Yeah. Isn't it wonderful?" she asked.

"I don't see how that could–" I began.

"Troy's single now!" Sharpay said.

"Yeah, but–" I began.

"Ryan…" Sharpay said.

"What part of 'lay off Troy, he doesn't need your crap' did you not understand?" I asked.

"Nothing. But he's single now. So that's void," she said.

"Yeah and Zeke?" I asked.

"Ooh. I forgot about Zeke," she said.

"Mm. That's something you have to take into consideration," I said. "That, and maybe Troy needs some time on his own. You know, to sort out his life."

"That could be true," she said.

"Did Chad tell you about his new bet?" I asked.

"The one about Troy and Gabriella?" she said. "Yeah. I'm wondering what that's all about."

"Yeah," I said. "Kelsi says…well, Kelsi's perpetually wrong."

"That he's saving himself for the right person?" Sharpay said. I looked at her. "Yeah, she told me. So what'd you say?"

"Maybe he's gay," I said. Sharpay snorted. "It could be. What's your best guess?"

"Maybe he's just waiting for me," Sharpay said.

"Well, then, couldn't he have just–" I began.

"No, because I was waiting. If we went out now, it would all be different," she said.

"In that everything's the same, and you've both still never slept with anyone?" I asked.

"Who told you that?" she said.

"Kelsi," I said. Sharpay scowled.

"I should never tell her things," she said.

"Most likely you didn't," I said. "Chad and the guys run this underground bet thing for secrets and Kelsi's in on it. And no one will say anything more than that."

"Secret Club? What's the secret? They're all morons?" she asked, laughing. "You wanna come to the pool with me?" I thought about it.

"I guess," I said. "Meet you out there in…half an hour?"

"Might need a little longer," she said. I chuckled and left her room. Forty minutes later, Sharpay walked out to meet me at the pool. I was sitting in a regular chaise next her pink one. Everything about that girl is pink, I swear. Everything.

"Hey Shar," I said. "Only forty minutes to get ready. That's got to be a record."

"Mm," she said. She was staring at Gabriella. "Can't believe I'm going to take your advice."

"Ah, yes. I give such great advice," I said. Sharpay sat down in her pink chaise. I stared over at Gabriella, who was looking lifeguard-esque. Her shift would be over in ten minutes, though, and I was glad Sharpay was there now. Sharpay sat tanning in the sunlight. It was very warm, and I was applying sun screen because I don't tan, I burn, and that hurts.

"Although," Sharpay said, after a while, "we are twins and therefore born to be rivals."

"You stole that from that movie 'The Other Boleyn Girl'," I said. "And this isn't for me. Why would I want Troy? I've got a girlfriend, remember? This is a favor to Troy."

"But–" Sharpay began.

"Fine. Ask him out. See if I care," I said. "Just remember what I said."

"Maybe I will, then," she said. There was silence again. Up at the lifeguard station, Gabriella's shift had just ended. She walked, as I had figured she would, over to me and Sharpay.

"Hey, Ryan," she said.

"Don't talk to me," I said, with an attempt at Sharpay's coldness that actually worked. Gabriella instead turned to Sharpay.

"You might want to tell your brother that Troy wants to talk to him sometime before the baseball game tomorrow afternoon," Gabriella said.

"Mm," Sharpay said. "Ryan, Gabi says Troy wants to talk to you."

"That's nice," I said.

"Ryan says that's nice," Sharpay said to Gabriella, with an air as if to say "I could really care less about you and anything you have to say."

"Thank you," Gabriella said.

"Gabriella says thank you," Sharpay said to me.

"Mm," I said.

"Ryan says–" Sharpay began.

"I heard," Gabriella snapped. I had to suppress a laugh. "Ryan, why are you being mean all of a sudden? What happened to we're all in this together?"

"Me?! What about you?" I asked. "You used to be this sweet, quiet, innocent little girl. What happened to you? And don't even get me started on we're all in this together."

"FYI, Ryan, you happened," Gabriella said, turning around and storming off.

"Since when did she start acting like you?" I asked. Sharpay shrugged and continued sun bathing like this rude interruption of her pool time had not just happened. "Why do you suppose Troy wants to talk to me?" Sharpay shrugged again. "You're not being helpful, Shar."

"I know," Sharpay said.

* * *

He next day after lunch, I still hadn't talked to Troy, although I had had another "date" with Kelsi (which, in case you're wondering, did _not_ end the same way as the last one). I was sitting in a chaise out by the pool with my iPod in my ears, when there was a disturbance behind me and I jumped like a mile.

"Troy, don't do that," I said.

"Sorry, man. Couldn't resist," Troy said, walking around my chaise and sitting in the one next to it.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I said.

"Oh, so you _did_ get the message," Troy said, "because I would have guessed you hadn't."

"Yeah, Sharpay told me. So what's up?" I asked, really wanting him to get on with it before Gabriella got done with her shift and came over to bother us.

"Right. So, oh, this might interest you," he said. I sighed in my head. He was never going to get to the point. "Your sister asked me out today."

"Oh," I said. It was the only thing I could think of to say. "That's…nice."

"Turned her down, though," Troy said. I was shocked.

"You what?" I said. I had not seen that coming.

"Yeah, She's…you know…whatever," Troy said. "But not again. Dear God, never ever again." He shuddered. "Whoa, don't tell her I said that. She'll scratch my eyes out."

"She'd probably kill me for telling her," I said. Troy laughed.

"So, you're the official campus stud," Troy said.

"What?" I said. I didn't get what had he meant. "Oh, you mean…what?"

"You're the one around here with a girlfriend, Ryan. You're the stud," Troy said. _Oh._

"Doesn't Chad still have Taylor?" I asked. I did _not_ want to be the stud.

"Yeah, I guess. You never can tell with them," Troy said.

"Kind of like you never can tell with you and Gabriella?" I asked.

"Right," he said. There was a pause, while a grin grew on my face. "I mean no! We are _so_ over."

"She's staring at us," I said. Troy turned his head around and Gabriella quickly looked back at the pool. "Must think we're plotting against her."

"Sounds like it, doesn't it?" Troy said. We both laughed.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" I asked, trying to get rid of him.

"Nah. I've got today off," Troy said.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

"Using my club membership, obviously," he said, stretching out in the chaise he was sitting in.

"Remind me again why I bothered to give you guys honorary club memberships?" I asked. Troy laughed. I had given them all honorary club memberships to use club facilities when they weren't on shift, as long as they kept up with their duties.

"Because you're a billion times nicer than your sister," Troy said.

"A billion times zero is still zero, Troy," I said. He just laughed. There was silence for a while. Eventually, I needed more sunscreen and started looking around for it. "Alright, Bolton, where did you hide my sunscreen?" Troy laughed again and held up the bottle.

"You mean this bottle of sunscreen?" Troy said. I grabbed for it, but he was too quick and I fell out of my chaise.

"Ow. Troy, give it back. I'm gonna burn," I whined. Troy pondered my request.

"Well, if you burn, that means you'll have to stay inside…" Troy began.

"Just give me the damn sunscreen," I said.

"Or what?" Troy asked.

"Or I don't know," I said. I wracked my brains, but nothing good came. "I'll…do something."

"Nice threat," Gabriella said from behind me. I jumped again.

"People have got to stop doing that," I complained. Gabriella laughed, walking around my chaise to Troy's.

"Hi Troy," she said. She grabbed the sunscreen from him and threw it at me. I caught it and frowned. "You're welcome," she added as she walked away.

"Lucky," Troy said, settling back into his chaise.

"I didn't need her help," I said, applying the sunscreen to myself. "Shit, where's Sharpay when you need her?" I added to myself.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"Can't get my back," I said. Troy looked at me for a second and then laughed.

"Not doing that," he said. "Although, here comes someone who will." I turned around to find Kelsi attempting to sneak up on me.

"Troy Bolton, you ruin everything," Kelsi said.

"Sorry, Kels, he almost had a heart attack when Gabriella did it," Troy said. I scowled and turned to Kelsi.

"Kelsi, help me," I said, holding the bottle up. "Troy's being mean." Kelsi laughed, took the bottle, and sunscreened my back. "Thank you." She sat down on my chaise. Troy and I looked at her. "What'cha doing here?"

"Oh, right," she said, apparently being brought back down to earth. "You guys ready for the staff baseball game?"

"Ooh, sorry, not staff. Wasn't invited," I said.

"The staff and Ryan baseball game?" Kelsi corrected herself. Troy laughed.

"Yep. I love baseball," I said. "Gonna kick some Wildcat ass."

"You vs. Us? No way man," Troy said. "We'll kill you."

"Did you just capitalize "us" in your thoughts?" I asked, semi-rhetorically. Troy just chuckled.

"Well, there won't be any killing involved if you two never get there," Kelsi said. Troy checked his wrist, which still did _not_ have a watch on it.

"Kelsi, we've got like 38 minutes," Troy said, nestling into his chaise. I, however, started freaking out.

"That is _not_ enough time for me to get ready! Kelsi, why didn't you tell me before?" I said.

"Dude, chill," Troy said.

"No, _dude_, I will _not_ chill," I said.

"Ryan, you've got to stop freaking out," Kelsi said. She took my wrists and sat me back down. "Deep breaths, Ry, deep breaths." I took deep breaths and calmed down. "There. Now go and get changed. You've got 36 minutes. Go." I ran inside and up to my room.

32.47985 minutes later, I was out on the baseball diamond. _Not_ late, I have to point out. My "team" was there waiting for me, as were the Wildcats. To make a really long story short, I was the pitcher, and my team won 11-8.

"Okay, Troy, now who's talking?" I said.

"You are, evidently," Chad said, coming over with Troy. "Told you this dude was good."

"Yeah, you were right," Troy said. The girls (Gabriella, Taylor, Kelsi, and Martha) ran out onto the field to congratulate us. Kelsi stole a kiss. She wanted them, so I gave them to her. I knew she was pretty much using me, but Kelsi was important to me. I loved her, I guess, but I knew (and hoped she did as well) that we could never really happen.

"Good game!" said Taylor. The other girls agreed. I wondered who asked Gabriella, but then figured she came with the others.

"Thanks," Chad said. "So, who's hungry?"

"Is all you think about food?" Troy asked.

"No, you should know that. I also think about basketball, and Taylor," said Chad. Taylor snorted at the thought of the company she was keeping in his head. "And speaking of bets, the latest one is on, so I'm gonna need a dollar from each of you, except Troy." Taylor's snort turned into a "We weren't speaking of bets" face, but everyone ignored that fact.

"Why not me?" Troy said.

"Cuz you're not in it," Chad said.

"Why? What's this new one about?" Troy asked.

"Nothing, dude, nothing," Chad said. "It's just something that you wouldn't understand. And Ryan, my man, we need to talk later."

"About what?" Troy asked suspiciously.

"About Saturday night. It's Taylor's special birthday party," Chad said.

"Right," said Taylor. "And since Ryan is already having a party, we figured we'd just combine them."

"Right," I said. I didn't know anything about this, but figured it had something to do with that, and it was pretty plausible.

"Oh, okay. So, who's hungry," said Troy. Chad laughed and the girls cheered.

**A/N: Okay, so like I said before (I think) I already have a lot of this written, and I'm just waiting for "strategic" intervals to post it. I just finished a very fluffy scene involving a paranoia about sprinklers, but I won't spoil it. The next scene in the party on Saturday night, and it's one of my favorites! Thanks for reading, and please review!! Oh, and make sure to read the random Tryan oneshot that I wrote during Physics class, entitled "Give You Up". It's amazing, and it's only rated 'M' for minor slash, and mentions of 'adult themes' but nothing really any worse than anywhere else in this story. I think. Very slashy though. Oh, and I don't own HSM, or The Other Boleyn Girl, or House, or anything else.**


	8. Party part 1

**A/N: Sorry for the wait!**

On Saturday night, I was running around my room at Lava Springs, looking for a shirt. Apparently, it's something I do a lot. When I finally found the polo in particular I was looking for, there was a knock at the door. I went over to the door and opened it, halfway into the shirt.

"Dude, put your shirt on," Chad said.

"You know, no one ever complains when Troy doesn't wear a shirt," I said. "I think this qualifies as racism or something."

"Let's not go there," Chad said. "So, are we going to your house or not?"

"Yeah, let's go," I said, grabbing a hat on my way out the door. Chad and I went down the stairs to the lobby, where Taylor was waiting for us. "Ah, happy birthday, Taylor."

"You know, once would have been enough," Taylor said, "but for some reason you feel you need to say that every time you see me." I had wished her a happy birthday every time I had seen her that day, and since Lava Springs employees were Lava Springs employees whether it was Saturday or not, I had seen her quite often.

"Yeah, well, I hope you have a happy birthday," I said. "Really."

"Whatever," Chad said. "Happy birthday, beautiful." They kissed and I averted my eyes. "Okay, we don't look away when you and Kelsi are kissing."

"Me and Kelsi are completely different," I said. "You know that." Chad nodded, and Taylor looked confused.

"Whoa, why?" she asked. _Ooh, I hadn't thought of that._ I still hadn't told Taylor, but it couldn't hurt, right?

"Um, well…" I began. _Nice try._ "We…well, we're not exactly legit."

"Why?" Taylor asked again. I sighed.

"Do I really have to explain it?" I asked.

"Yes," said Taylor. Chad rolled his eyes.

"Fine," I said. I looked both ways and made sure no one was around as we were walking to the employee parking lot. "Question: Why aren't Kelsi and I legit? Answer: I'm gay." Chad nodded, matter-of-factly. Taylor didn't have a facial expression easily described with words.

"Oh," was all she said.

"That might take a while to sink in," said Chad. "Meanwhile, we're here." He pointed to Taylor's car, as he still didn't have one himself yet. That's what the job was for. Taylor got in the driver's seat, still in some sort of trance.

"Is she gonna be okay to drive?" I asked Chad. Chad snapped his fingers in front on Taylor's face.

"Huh, what?" Taylor asked, looking around at him.

"Are you okay?" Chad said.

"Yeah, that was just…a shock, I guess," she said.

"Really?" I asked. I wouldn't have thought anyone would have thought it was a big surprise.

"Sure," she said. "I mean, the whole Kelsi thing went down, and we all just figured…"

"Yeah, well, that's…well…just don't tell anyone, okay?" I said.

"Oh, no, don't worry," she said. "I won't tell anyone. At all." There was a pause. "Why are you looking at me funny?"

"Because you're supposed to be driving," Chad said. "Let's go." Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the Evans' Mansion, where the bar was being re-erected in the living room.

"Okay, people, listen up. Can I have the staff's attention for a second?" I said. The staff stopped what they were doing and looked at me. "Okay, today is a very special night, because it's Taylor's birthday party. So, there should be some kind of cake involved. And streamers. And maybe a sign. Can you guys do that?" The staff looked amongst themselves and agreed. "Thank you. I'll be upstairs in my room if you need me." I took Chad and Taylor upstairs into my room. "Okay, guys, so what's the plan?"

"Well, our first order of business is figuring out exactly what is the deal with Troy," said Chad.

"Oh, yeah, what is that about, anyways?" Taylor asked. I shrugged.

"We don't know. That's why we have to figure it out," Chad said.

"Yeah, one of life's great unsolved mysteries. We may need professionals," I said.

"No, we've got you," Chad said.

"Whoa, what am I supposed to be doing?" I asked, a little scared.

"Just dropping hints about stuff, and see if he'll tell you," Chad said. "I've got the rest of the guys doing it."

"What about Taylor?" I asked. "What's her purpose?"

"Well, it's her birthday," Chad said.

"It's my job to try and get stuff out of Gabriella. Trust me, it's not any more fun," Taylor said.

"Oh, come on, I wanna do that. I don't wanna talk to Troy," I whined.

"Dude, quit whining, people are gonna think you're, like, gay," Chad said.

"I _am_ gay, Chad," I said. "You're supposed to know that." Chad laughed.

"Oh, right," Chad said. "And it's, like, this big secret. That might need professionals," he added mockingly.

"Can we just get on with the plan already?" Taylor asked.

"Right. So after we get the needed info out of Troy, we'll piece it together with the rest of the puzzle," Chad said. He unrolled the large roll of paper he had been carrying.

"Whoa," I said. "What's this?"

"This, my friend, is the East High Class of 2008's board of secrets," Chad said. "This is how we keep track of people's secrets and learn to rule them effectively. It was Troy's idea." I looked at the paper. There were names all over it, with little words written next to them. I looked on the paper and soon found my name, next to Sharpay's. Troy's name was nearby. I looked around, and some of the things I read confused me. "Um, actually, we probably shouldn't let you read this. There are some pretty bad secrets on here."

"You think?" I said. "I didn't know Chuckie was gay."

"Um, yeah," Chad said. "I thought that one was pretty obvious."

"No way," I said. "I've never heard that."

"It's not something we usually talk about. Chuckie doesn't really want to get beat up by those homophobic football guys," Chad said.

"Well, that was my reasoning," I said. "Wow, though. Still don't believe it. He's so good at basketball. Oh my God, does Coach Bolton know?"

"No," Chad said.

"Can you imagine what he would say?" I said, almost laughing. "I mean, it's not funny. But that would be hilarious. Except for then I remember that that's probably going to happen to me and it's not funny anymore."

"Do you ever listen to yourself talk?" Chad asked. "Because you never make sense."

"Probably not," I said. "Anyways, what were we talking about?"

"Right," Chad said, rolling the paper back up and putting it down. "The point was that once we figure out those two things we'll be almost done with our board. Our plan was to finish it by graduation and put it in the time capsule for our 10 year reunion, because by then most of it won't matter anyways."

"And how long have you been working on this?" I asked.

"Since the sixth grade," Chad said. "But back then it was just me, Troy, Jason, Zeke, and some of the other guys. We've now got it expanded into Kelsi, Taylor, some of the other girls, and almost all of the guys."

"Oh, I just thought of something. The thing about Sharpay," I said.

"Oh, you figured out why she won't sleep with Zeke," Chad said. "We need that one."

"Yeah. Well, not really. I _did_ find out that if she went out with Troy she'd sleep with him," I said.

"That's not really an answer," Chad said. "See, the problem with the board is that every time we answer a question, a whole bunch more arise. That's why we need to crack down on the existing questions as quickly as possible, so that by the time graduation comes, we'll have every secret."

"It seems like this is invading a whole bunch of people's privacy," I said.

"Not really. We don't force them to tell, and once we have the secret, we don't talk about it. We just write it down on that paper, which has never left my room before tonight," he said. "Just don't lose it, okay?"

"Okay," I said. I wasn't going to lose it. People's secrets counted on it. "So now that I'm in, are you gonna tell me exactly what this has to do with the bets, and how you know all this stuff?"

"Well, the bets are a good way to keep it interesting. And to keep track of the ones we still have to solve. I keep all the unresolved bets on the yellow piece of paper in my pocket, as you probably have seen," he said, taking out the page.

"Can I see that?" I asked. He shrugged and handed it to me.

"Why not?" he said. "You might know something." I looked down it. There was the ones I had expected. Troy's "problem", Sharpay's virginity, etc. but there were others as well.

"What's this one?" I asked, pointing. Chad blushed.

"Yeah, that was not my idea," he said. Taylor rolled her eyes, now very bored with this conversation. "Yeah, so the guys were convinced that there was something going on between you and Gabriella. After the events of last Saturday, it's pretty much void..."

"So, everyone thought Gabriella was cheating on Troy with me?" I asked. Chad nodded. "And yet everyone took it as a given that I was gay?"

"Right. I'm not saying everything matches up," Chad said. "I'm just saying that's what they thought."

"You didn't think there was something going on with me and Gabi, did you?" I asked.

"No," Chad said. I raised my eyebrows. "Well, not until this summer. I thought there _might_ have been a _small_ chance, especially after you guys started spending so much time together before the talent show. But then after last Saturday, I figured there was no way. It wouldn't have been so upsetting if you had been going together the entire time."

"Yeah," I said, not exactly sure what to say. "So there was nothing going on between us, Chad, okay? Nothing. I never liked her."

"I know that, dude," Chad said. "That's what I tried to tell Troy on Sunday night when he was driving me home. That you were just a friend being a friend to a friend. Friends quote.  And that Gabriella had never meant anything to you, besides being a friend."

"I would never do that to anyone, no matter how much of a jerk they were. And I've hated Troy since the first grade when he gave me and Sharpay the chicken pox," I said.

"I know, dude, I know," Chad said. "I'll just…end that bet." He took the piece of paper and crossed it out. "Sorry, man."

"That's okay," I said. I took the paper back and continued going down it. "Kelsi said you weren't keeping one on her virginity."

"Um, we weren't," Chad said quickly.

"I can read, Chad, I'm not stupid," I said, pointing.

"Okay, fine, so we were, but just don't tell her," Chad said.

"Well, you missed the mark by a long shot," I said, "because she slept with Jason in February." Chad looked confused.

"What? No she didn't," he said. "Jason and Kelsi never slept together."

"Yes they did," I said. "Kelsi said they did. That's what she said."

"Okay, man, I believe you. I'll talk to Jason, dude," Chad said. I was scared. I was scared out of my mind. I was really worried that Kelsi had lied about it, and that she really hadn't ever slept with anyone else except me. I honestly didn't want that to happen. I didn't want to believe that, and I didn't want to believe that Kelsi would lie about it, either. "Dude, did you–"

"Look, Chad, I don't really want to talk about it," I said.

"You did! Ryan and Kelsi sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in a baby carriage," Chad said. I burst out laughing,

"What are you, like, five?" Taylor asked. "Seriously."

"Well, would you like me to start a bet about your virginity? Because I bet I can tell you when you lost it," Chad said. Taylor opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Chad exactly what he could do with it, when I decided it was time to get back on topic.

"And so anyways, what does this all have to do with Troy? I mean, why tonight?" I asked.

"Well, tonight, as you know, is the night that Troy bet you would admit feelings for him," Chad said. "And if there ever was a good time to do so, tonight would be it."

"Okay, so when do I do that?" I asked.

"Well, if he ends up telling you his secret, then would be a good time," Chad said. "If he doesn't, just make sure you get it in before he's too drunk to remember it."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "Do we have to, like, put our hands in or something?"

"Um, sure," Chad said. We put our hands in and Taylor, rolling her eyes, joined us.

"What are we going to yell?" I asked.

"Wildcats?" Chad offered.

"Well, I can't think of anything better," I said.

"Wildcats it is, then," Taylor said. We all yelled Wildcats, and headed downstairs, where it was almost time for the party to start. I was scared as hell about this whole Troy thing, but he couldn't possibly be mad if he won a bet, could he? _Maybe._ I figured he'd probably be mad any way I looked at it. Eventually, Kelsi arrived at the party, much to my disgruntlement. She kept hanging off of me like if she let go she would fall into the fiery pit of death. Aid came soon after, though, because Troy showed up, and Chad came over to prod me in the right direction.

* * *

Troy seemed a bit preoccupied, as he walked into the door, but I started following him around, and he seemed different than usual. He walked into the hall, and I went too.

"Ryan?" he asked, turning around to look at me.

"Yeah," I said.

"I think we need to talk," he said. I hadn't been expecting him to say this, but it was good, because I needed to talk to him as well.

"Um, that's good. I need to talk to you too," I said. "Where do you wanna talk?"

"I really like that room that looks like St. Patrick's Day," he said.

"You only like that room because that's your birthday," I said to him.

"So?" he said. "Why do you even have a St. Patrick's room?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "Mom's an interior decorator and we have a lot of rooms that don't make sense." I started walking down the hall towards it. Troy followed me. I could tell he was watching me, and I was a little creeped out. When we got there, we sat down in two of the large green chairs, the backs of which were shaped like shamrocks. "Sometimes I think this room is almost _too_ festive."

"How can a room that celebrates a holiday about drinking beer with your Irish buddies be _too_ festive?" Troy asked. I shrugged.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Well, I've kind of been waiting for this night for a long time. It's not really an important day, but I feel it's significant," he began. "I'm not sure I want to do this just yet though. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, August 11th has a lot of significance," I said. "For example, it's Taylor's birthday, and by some kind of random coincidence, it's also Alyson Stoner and Will Friedle's birthdays. Go figure, right? The Battle of Amiens ended today in 1918, and there was a total solar eclipse in Europe and Asia in 1999. Also, by random coincidence, the Republic of Chad declared independence from France on this date in 1960."

"Are you gonna get to the point?" Troy asked, impatiently.

"Maybe," I replied. There was silence.

"Look, whatever you're supposed to ask, just ask it, okay?" Troy said. I was taken aback that he knew what I was trying to do, and that he would be so forward about it.

"Okay, look, apparently I've been delegated the task of asking you why you never slept with Gabriella," I said. "And I hate to ask, but Chad's making me."

"I figured that's what it was," he replied. "So someone finally figured out that I was the one who wasn't letting Gabi into my pants instead of the other way around." I nodded. He sighed. "Yeah, I've had that one coming for a long time. And it's kind of why tonight is so special. So, since you're in on Chad's ridiculous scheme, you probably know all about the board of secrets, and the various bets we have out." I nodded again. "So you've probably figured out why tonight is supposed to have significance."

"No, actually," I said. _Could he be talking about that bet? But he's supposed to think it's a big joke._ I was confused.

"Tonight was…well, that was one of the bets," he said. "You really don't know?" I shook my head, feigning ignorance. "I feel kind of ridiculous doing this after the whole Kelsi thing went down, but well…here goes, okay?" I was staring at him very intently. I couldn't believe he was about to tell me what he was about to tell me. If I hadn't been so confused, I might have been ecstatic. "There's something very important going on, and it would probably be advisable that you didn't tell anyone right away."

"Are you going to get to the point?" I asked, impatiently.

"Maybe," he said, mocking what I had said earlier. "Okay, so here's the thing. Tonight was the night that I chose to do this, and I am going to if it takes all night. So, here goes. Oh, wait, before I start, you haven't had any beers yet, have you?"

"Uh, no," I said, truthfully. Chad hadn't let me drink any yet.

"Okay," Troy said. "I'm going to tell you something. Don't you dare freak out." He paused for a second. "I'm gay."

**A/N: Okay, so, I originally wanted to post the entire party all at once, and I'm pretty sure I owed this all yesterday, but the entire party was over 16 pages in Microsoft Word, and I didn't think anyone would want to read all that at once, so I left this little random cliffhanger in there where I originally had a chapter break. I'll probably (emphasis on probably) post the other half of the party tomorrow at some point, although I can't promise.**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!! PS, I don't own HSM or anything like that.**

**Oh, PS…You figure out why the story is named what it is in the chapter, did you catch that?**

**Oh, and I guess I'll have to explain my OC, Chuckie. He's the basketball player who wears the number 44, played by Charles Klapow, the choreographer of the movie. I like his hair, so I picked him for my random OC. That's all. He becomes kind of important in later chapters, but not too much. The second half of the party scene will explain why (if at all) he is important.**


	9. Party part 2

"I'm gay," Troy said. I just sat there, wondering what on earth was going on. It just didn't add up. He was straight, I thought I had covered that. My head was exploding (figuratively).

"Well…that would…well, that…would explain it…I guess," I managed to stammer. Troy nodded. "So…really?"

"Yep," Troy said.

"Um, is it okay if I don't believe you?" I said.

"See, I knew you were going to react like this," Troy said. "I knew it."

"No, I…understand, I guess…but it just seems so…unlikely," I said. "You're like the second straightest guy I know."

"Chad?" he asked.

"Yeah. He's like uber-straight," I said. There was a pause. "Right?"

"Oh, yeah, Chad's totally straight. And he doesn't know that…I'm…you know," he said.

"Um, yeah, I think that definitely would have come up at some point," I said. Troy looked at me oddly and I realized I hadn't told him my thing yet. "So, I guess it _doesn't_ go without saying that I'm gay, too."

"Oh, thank God," Troy said. "I was worried after that whole Kelsi thing…"

"Yeah, that didn't go the way I planned," I said, quickly. "So, no one knows about you?"

"No one but you," he said. "And you?"

"Um, Kelsi, Chad, Taylor, and you, I guess," I said. "So is that why you broke up with Gabriella?"

"Um, when we broke up on Wednesday, it was because I knew I had to do this today and it wouldn't be very plausible if I was still dating Gabi," he said. "But, I guess you have Kelsi, so…"

"Me and Kelsi are…totally different," I said. "There's nothing really about us. We're not…" I trailed off because I couldn't find the right words.

"Yeah, I get it," he said.

"Guess we're not gonna bring up the fact that we hate each other," I said.

"Nah, probably shouldn't mention that," he said. "After all, do we even remember why?"

"No," I answered truthfully. "It had something to do with…something…"

"Exactly," he said. There was a silence.

"Um, why exactly did you wanna have this conversation with me?" I asked.

"That's what I said to myself," he said. "I told myself that if there ever was a good day to do this, tonight was it."

"You know, it's funny that's exactly what Chad said to me," I said.

"About what?" he asked.

"Well, apparently there's this bet," I began.

"The one where you admit you have feelings for me," Troy said.

"Right," I said, "and you're supposed to think it's, like, this big joke."

"Right," he said. "It's not a joke, is it?"

"Um, well, I don't know," I said. "It doesn't have to be…"

"I never thought it was a joke, if that makes you feel better," he said.

"Well, that helps, I guess. This is really awkward," I said.

"Yeah, just a little bit," he said.

"Okay, here goes," I said. "You're really hot, and I, um, kind of, maybe, _like_ you." I sounded like I was in the first grade.

"Okay. My turn," he said. I was surprised he was going to take a shot. "Ditto."

"Um, really?" I asked.

"Sure," he said. "Have you seen you? It was practically killing me the other day when we were out by the pool. I almost couldn't stop myself from jumping on top of you."

"I can honestly say that I don't think I would have minded," I said. There was a pause and then I started laughing uncontrollably.

"What? Dude, I'm being serious," Troy said.

"I know," I said. "Me too." I kept laughing.

"What is so funny?" Troy asked.

"I was laughing earlier about what your dad would say about…well, he's not exactly the most accepting person in the world…" I said between laughs. "And it was really funny, except for not."

"Yeah," Troy said, although he wasn't laughing. "This might be difficult to explain." He smiled and started cracking up as well. It took a while for us to calm down.

"You know, we've been in here a long time. People might get suspicious," I said.

"Oh, right," he said. "I guess I should go find Chad."

"Oh, yeah, I have to, too," I said.

"Actually, I was thinking I could handle this," he said.

"Oh, no, he owes me some money," I said. "I won a bet."

"Ah, which one?" Troy asked.

"Isn't it obvious? The one about why you wouldn't sleep with Gabriella," I replied.

"Oh, so you guessed I was gay?" Troy asked, a little put out.

"Enh, shot in the dark, fingers crossed," I said. Troy laughed. I stood up to leave.

"Hey, I'm not done talking yet," he said.

"Look, Troy, if you're gonna ask me out, just do it already," I said.

"Fine. What you said," he said.

"Fine," I agreed. "Happy now?"

"Maybe," he said. "Let's go find Chad."

"Okay, but we're still straight outside this room, right?" I asked. I was a little worried that he might want us both to come out right away.

"Oh, yeah, man, definitely," he said. _Whew._

"Okay, thank God," I said. "Let's go find Chad."

* * *

Troy and I walked down the hall, back to the living room, where there was suddenly a lot of kids. I stood on my tiptoes trying to spot Chad's hair over the crowd.

"I don't see him," I said. Troy was frowning around the room. "Oh, wait, there he is." I pointed to where I had spotted him over by the bar next to Taylor. Troy nodded.

"I'll go get him," he said. I nodded and Troy left in the direction of Chad. They both came back three minutes later. Chad looked very confused.

"Dude, what's going on?" Chad asked. Troy and I brought him into the hall. "Uh, where are we going?" Troy and I looked at each other. I shrugged.

"Wherever you want. What's your favorite room, Chad?" Troy asked. Chad thought.

"I like that one where we were that time when we did that thing…you know," he said.

"Good language skills are a subtlety lost on Chad," I said to Troy, who laughed. "Just pick a room." Chad walked down the hall and picked the fourth door on the left. "Good choice." The room had a big blue couch in it, and a big chest of toys, as well as other things, as we saw when we entered it.

"And the purpose of this room is…?" Chad asked.

"No idea," I said.

"This is _your_ house. You should know," Chad said.

"Well, I don't," I said. "Anyways, just sit." Chad sat on the couch. Troy and I took chairs nearby.

"Okay, so what is this all about?" Chad asked.

"Well, first of all, we both won bets," I said. "And I think Troy might have something to tell you."

"Yeah, okay, but it's a secret, okay? That means no telling!" Troy warned. Chad was looking at us very intently.

"What, dude?" Chad asked.

"I'm gay," Troy said. There was a pause. I looked at Chad. His face was very blank, but I could only imagine what was going on inside his head. Figurative steam was erupting from his ears.

"I think we have to wait for the sonic boom," I said to Troy, who laughed again. Chad's eyes were flickering between us. He blinked a few times and seemed to come to.

"Um, what?" Chad managed to say.

"I said–" Troy began.

"Dude, I heard what you said. I think. I just…really?" Chad asked.

"Yeah," Troy said.

"Dude, I am your most loyal best friend," Chad said, causing Troy to laugh again, most likely about the context of the last time he had said those words. "How could I not know about this?"

"Because no one knows. Actually, that's not entirely true," Troy said. "Ryan knows." He indicated me. "And, um, actually, Chuckie sort of knows."

"Chuckie knows?" Chad said. "Dude, why didn't you tell_ me_?"

"I didn't really want it to get out," Troy said. "That's…well, that's a big thing."

"Yeah," I interjected. "I can see the headlines now. 'Disaster Strikes East High: Basketball Star found Homosexual'. That would go over well with your dad."

"Oh, yeah," Troy joked. "Imagine it. 'Dad, me and my boyfriend are going out now, we'll be back around midnight, or maybe not.' That would go over _really_ well."

"I still can't…Troy…Ryan…what?" Chad said.

"I don't think it's sinking in," I said.

"No, I got it, but I still don't believe it," Chad said.

"Maybe you should write this down on your list of important events," I suggested.

"There are already too many important events on today," Chad whined. "It's Taylor's birthday, and it's Alyson Stoner's birthday, and it's Will Friedle's birthday, and it's the day the Battle of Amiens ended in 1918, and there was a total solar eclipse in 1999, and it's the day the Republic of Chad declared independence from France in 1960." I laughed.

"That's what he said," Troy said, pointing at me. "How do you guys know all this stuff?"

"We looked it up," I said. "That's what we did Thursday after the baseball game."

"Yeah, well, given the circumstances, I think it's important that I just say, for the record, that I am _not_ gay," Chad said.

"Yeah, we knew that," I said. "You're, like, uber-straight."

"Hell, yeah," Chad said. "Not that there's anything wrong with…you know…"

"Yeah, we get it," Troy said. He turned to me. "What else were we going to say?"

"I don't remember," I said. Troy thought, stroking an imaginary beard as he did so.

"Okay, that's gay," Chad said. Troy laughed.

"You could tell us the story behind you and Chuckie," I suggested. I was interested in why Chuckie knew.

"Um, well, there's not much to tell there," Troy said.

"Oh, come on," Chad said.

"Fine. I guess he was kind of like my first boyfriend?" Troy said, although it was more a question than a declaration. Chad snickered. "Shut up, Chad. Okay, it was, like, in middle school, and we had found out Chuckie's secret for the board, right? And I was kind of in the process of discoverating that I was kinda…you know…gay…"

"Okay, that's a really long time," Chad said. "I was figuring this was a recent thing."

"Um, no," Troy said. "And I was regretting being in charge of the Chuckie thing, and so he was the first one I told. And the only one I told, until tonight. I know that sounds weird, but I _really_ did not want this to get back to my dad. Which reminds me, if you tell my dad, I will kill you."

"Don't worry, dude, we got your back," Chad said. "I mean, we never told him about Chuckie, and you are, like, way more important than Chuckie, dude. Well, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, man, I believe you," Troy said. "Yeah, so Chuckie was kind of like my first boyfriend. And that was…well…interesting, I guess. He's nice. But it never would have worked out."

"Why not?" I asked, intrigued.

"Um, I'd rather not say," Troy said.

"Tell us," Chad said.

"I don't want to," Troy said.

"Okay. Don't tell us," I said. "It probably doesn't matter anyways. Personally, I need a beer."

"Dude, beer?" Chad asked. I nodded. Chad shook his head like I was an embarrassment to gay men everywhere.

"So I drink beer, so what?" I said. "Zeke drinks enough fancy drinks for the both of us."

"Whatever," Chad said, turning back to Troy. "Tell us the Chuckie thing."

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing," Troy said.

"I said I didn't want to know," I said.

"Fine, I won't tell you," Troy said.

"Oh, come on, I wanna know!" Chad complained.

"Not now," Troy said. "It's not time."

"It's not time?" Chad asked. "What kind of answer is that?"

"You'll know, eventually," Troy said. "In the meantime, I hear alcohol calling my name."

"Me too," I said.

"Yeah, but the beer is calling your name," Chad said.

"I am _not_ a disgrace, Chad," I argued.

"Whatever. I have another question for Troy," Chad said.

"Oh, come on," Troy said.

"No, I will not come on," Chad said, evidently wanting to get all the facts. "So what about you and Sharpay?" He shuddered, as if by saying her name she would appear.

"What about us?" Troy asked.

"Like why'd you go out with her if you knew you were gay?" Chad asked.

"Uh…" Troy said, "I guess people just expect us to be together. You know, Troy, Sharpay, Sharpay, Troy. It just makes sense."

"You know, it's funny, that's exactly what Sharpay said," I said. "So that didn't work out and you turned to Gabriella." Troy nodded. "Why all the girls?"

"Image," Chad said.

"What?" I asked.

"Image," Chad repeated.

"Right," Troy said, nodding. "The 'star basketball dude' has to keep up his image. But it's not really worth it. The girls were nice, but that's not what I want."

"Dude, TMI," Chad said. I smiled though. I was beginning to suspect why the Chuckie thing didn't work out.

"But Gabriella and Sharpay don't know, do they?" I asked. Troy laughed.

"No. No, no, no, no, no. No," Troy said. "That's worse than my dad. Well, maybe not, but about the same. They couldn't keep a secret."

"That's what I figured," I said. There was a silence.

"Are we done here? It _is_ Taylor's birthday, after all," Chad said.

"Just go, Chad," Troy said. "And for God sakes, don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, man. I got your back," Chad said, hurriedly getting up and leaving.

"Well, that went well," Troy said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "So…"

"I'm in the mood for some beer," Troy said. I threw my hands in the air.

"And somehow _you're_ not an embarrassment to gay men everywhere?" I asked.

"I don't know, man. Tough luck," he said. I laughed and we went back into the living room.

**A/N: So, I had plans to post this about…oh…six hours ago, but I was tired and I didn't get around to it, and I'm **_**sorry**_**. I don't own HSM, or any of that stuff. **

**PREQUEL INFO: Now that this chapter has been posted, I can **_**finally**_** tell you what the prequel's about. It's Troy x Chuckie (or, at least, it will be) and Chadpay. (There's also some Troypay in the beginning. There's also one random hint of Zekepay that I snuck in there as a reason behind Zeke's random infatuation with the Ice Princess.) I know, it's weird, but that's what I decided. It will be a story about Troy, told from Troy's point of view and set sometime during middle school (so pre-Gabriella era). **

**That's right, there will be no Gabi in the prequel. It's a sad, sad state of affairs. Oh, and any Gabi fans out there who still hate me for making her such a bitch in this story, her redemption comes in the form of the next chapter!! YAY! For anyone who's not a Gabi fan, it's okay, she becomes mean again, except for it's not really her fault. And Ryan forgives her, because he's a nice person. I need to stop spoiling it.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!!**

**PS, I just figured out how to do that fancy line thing, so I might edit the other chapters, so just ignore that, because I'm not really changing anything.**


	10. this could be the start of something new

**A/N: Okay, so my excuse this time? None. I am just purely **_**that**_** lazy that I didn't get this up sooner. That and I had a **_**really**_** good idea (at 11am, actually, if you can believe that) for a oneshot, that turned out **_**much**_** longer than I expected (already 17 plus pages) and therefore, not a oneshot, but it'll be cool anyways. So, my apologies for the lateness, and I don't own HSM, or anything like that. Gabriella fans should not be disappointed by this chapter. If anyone was actually reading this for the Ryelsi, not the Tryan, you'll probably want to stop after this chapter, although I'm not going to say anything else about it. Oh, and this is the longest chapter yet.  
**

The next morning, I woke up, as most people do. I was very comfy right there in my bed. I rolled over and realized there was someone else there as well. I screamed and hopped out of bed. The person sat up.

"Stop screaming, you're gonna wake up Sharpay," it said.

"Oh, thank God, it's just you," I said, suddenly realizing who it was and that I still had pants on.

"Yeah, it's just me," Kelsi said. "Who else could it be?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "After last weekend…well, I was a little scared."

"It's just me, and we didn't _do_ anything," Kelsi said, laying back down and rolling over. "Stupid gay boyfriend," she mumbled to herself.

"I heard that," I said. "If you don't wanna be my girlfriend anymore, don't."

"No, I wannabe," she said. I laughed. "Not the Spice Girls again."

"The Spice Girls are amazing!" I argued. She closed her eyes and shook her head. It's true, though. The Girls named Spice are, like, the best people ever.

"Excited for the reunion tour, are we?" Kelsi asked.

"Hell, yeah! I got my tickets before Sharpay did!" I said. Kelsi sighed in a "You are _so_ gay" type way and I scowled. "I'm going to breakfast." I grabbed my shirt and hat and left the room.

Upon my arrival in the dining room, fully dressed, I found it mostly empty. The only occupants were Troy, Chad, Chuckie, and Taylor. I wondered what time it was.

"What's up guys?" I asked, sitting down and helping myself to the food on the table.

"Nothing much," Taylor said. She looked at Chad, who snickered.

"Okay, what did I do that I don't remember this time?" I asked, sighing.

"Nothing," said Troy. "They know." I looked at him, confused. "Ry, they _know_."

"Oh," I said, getting it. "Oh, okay. Did I know that?" Troy shook his head.

"Nah, told them this morning. Hope that's okay," he said.

"Yeah, that's fine. What time is it?" I asked. "And if the words 'Summertime', 'Party time', 'Time of our Lives', 'Anticipation', or 'School's out, scream and shout' come up in the answer, some heads are gonna get knocked together." Chad laughed.

"That only happens when I ask," he said.

"It's 9:30," Troy said, looking at his wrist (which _still_ didn't have a watch on it).

"I have to ask," I said. "You do know you're not wearing a watch, right?" Troy just continued to look at me like I was _insane_.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Never mind," I said. Chad gave me an "I'll explain it later" type look and I dropped it.

"Anyways, so congrats," Chuckie said.

"Thanks," I said.

"Yep," Troy said. He smiled at me, and I felt awkward.

"You know what they say," I said. "Love the life you live, live the life you love."

"Bob Marley," Chad said. Everyone looked at him. "He says that."

"Yeah," I said.

"And life's what you make it," Troy said.

"So let's make it right," Taylor finished. "Miley Cyrus."

"Who?" Chad asked.

"Miley Cyrus," Taylor repeated. "Hannah Montana?" Chad gave her a "Yeah, cuz I really watch the Disney Channel type look" and rolled his eyes.

"We're getting deep today, aren't we?" he said.

"Apparently so," I replied. "So what else is up, besides 'deep feelings' and secret relationships?"

"Nothing," Troy said. "Where's Kelsi?"

"My bed, still, probably," I said. "Almost had a freaking heart attack this morning."

"Hey, she's your girlfriend," Troy said.

"No, she's my 'girlfriend'. There's a big difference," I said.

"And the difference is the use of air quotes?" Taylor asked. I nodded.

"So, you have a girlfriend _and_ a boyfriend?" Chuckie asked. "Lucky."

"Okay, I have a 'girlfriend' and a _secret_ boyfriend," I clarified. Troy nodded.

"This _is_ interesting," Chad said, sarcastically. "Glad I got up." Taylor slapped his arm.

"You're supposed to be being supportive of this whole situation," she said. "They're your best friends, after all."

"Yeah, well, I'll best friend them later," Chad said, yawning.

"That's not even a verb," Chuckie said.

"Yeah, well, you're not even a verb," Chad said. Troy and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"If someone said 'yeah, well, your FACE isn't even a verb' right now, I don't think I'd ever stop laughing," Troy said. I nodded.

"Fine. I'm your best friend. So tell your boyfriend if he breaks your heart, I'll break his neck," Chad said. "And that goes for both of you."

"Thanks," I said.

"Yeah, thanks, man," Troy said. "I'm sure we needed that."

"That's what best friends are for, people," Chad said. "And you're welcome."

"Okay, then," said Taylor, choosing to ignore this semi-gay remark from her boyfriend. "Wish my best friend said that."

"And your best friend is…?" asked Chuckie.

"Gabriella," Taylor said. There was a pause while everyone looked at her. "Okay, good point. Still, though. That's nice."

"Yeah, whatever," Chad said. "Can I go back to bed now?" At that moment, either by random coincidence or some all-knowing power behind the plot of my life, some people walked into the dining room that would make it impossible for Chad to go back to bed all day, which would make him cranky. Three girls and two guys had appeared in the doorway to the hall.

"Hey, guys," I said. It was Gabriella, Sharpay, Martha, Zeke, and Jason. "Is Kelsi still asleep?"

"You tell us," said Sharpay. "She's in _your_ bed." She slid into a chair on the other side of the table next to Troy, whose groan went unnoticed by Sharpay. Gabriella and Martha sat down as well, on my side of the table. Zeke sat in the chair on the other side of Sharpay, and Jason walked around the table to sit across from Taylor and Chuckie.

"Oh, well, then, she's still there," I said. "I left when she started dissing the Spice Girls."

"She didn't!" Martha said.

"Yeah, she did," I said. Martha shook her head.

"That's just not right," she said.

"I know, right?" I said.

"Like, duh," Sharpay said, sarcastically.

"Anyways," Zeke said, "good morning. If it is a good morning. Is it?" I looked around.

"I think it's a good morning," said Troy. I smiled inwardly. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it. If only Gabriella would apologize…

"Ryan," Gabriella called sweetly over to me. I looked at her.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Last night better than last Saturday night?" she asked. _It's a start, I guess._

"Probably. I have a tendency not to remember Saturday nights," I said. She laughed, even though she didn't really have a reason to. Troy rolled his eyes and I smirked in a "Enh, what are you gonna do?" type way. "Although, I've gotta say any night when I don't get taken advantage of by _you_ is a good night."

"Oh, burn," said Zeke. I slapped five with him across the table and laughed.

"Fine. Be that way," Gabriella said, getting up from the table. "P.S. I don't really hate you that much." She stormed out of the room. I sighed.

"God, she needs to stop acting like Sharpay," I said, also getting up from the table. My comment mustered laughs from around the table. "I'll be back." I left the room and looked down the hall both ways to see where she had gone. There she was, sitting on the stairs. I couldn't tell if she was crying or fuming. It's such a fine line. "Gabs, I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did," she said.

"Fine, I did," I said, sitting down next to her on the stairs. "But I'm sorry, at least, unlike some people." _Wow, I am just on _fire_ today._ She didn't say anything. "Gabi–"

"I know. I deserve it," she said. This was not the response I had been expecting.

"I-What?" I said.

"They all say 'That Gabriella is such a bitch. She should go back where she came from.' That's what they say," she said. "And I know it's true."

"Gabriella Elizabeth Montez, you know that isn't true," I said. "Come here." I put my arms around her in a hug. "Anyone who says that isn't worth your time."

"Don't _you_ think that?" she asked.

"No, of course not. Right here is right where you belong," I said. "And if anyone tells you differently they'll have me to answer to." She giggled. "Okay, fine, they'll have Sharpay to answer to."

"Thanks, Ryan," Gabriella said, smiling at me through her tears.

"You're welcome," I said. I sat there hugging her on the stairs for a moment, then realized what I was doing. "Shit."

"What?" she said.

"It just occurred to me that if Kelsi randomly appeared right now, we would both be in some deep shit with her," I said.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said. "I should go. And, Ryan–" She looked me in the eyes and I looked back wondering what she was up to. "–for what it's worth…I'm sorry." She kissed me again and got up from the stairs. I'm not going to brag, but her kisses are like candy. Seriously. She must have been wearing flavored lip gloss. It tasted good.

"Where do you think you're going to go?" I asked. She stopped walking down the hall and turned around. "You can't drive."

"Oh, right," she said. "I…"

"Come back here," I said. "Let's go back to breakfast, shall we?" She nodded and walked back to me. I put my arm around her and she put her head on my shoulder. "We should do something together sometime."

"Like what?" she asked.

"I don't know, but we should hang out sometime. Just us," I said. I didn't know why I was suggesting this, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

"Okay," she said. "Maybe a movie?"

"Sure," I said. "We'll go to a movie sometime this week, okay?"

"Time and place, baby," she said. I looked at her.

"What did I say about that?" I asked, sighing. She blushed.

"Fine. Just 'time and place', no 'baby'," she said.

"Thank you," I said. We went through the doors into the dining room again, and I sat her down in her chair, and then continued over to the chair where I had been sitting and sat down myself. Troy was looking at me funny. I gave him a "we'll talk about it later" look and he nodded.

"So, what's up with you guys?" Sharpay asked, in that voice she uses when she's trying to imply that something that didn't happen, happened.

"Nothing," I said, maybe not entirely truthfully.

"I'm hungry," Chad offered.

"Well, there's a change from earlier," Taylor said. "Are you all about food and sleep?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" Chad asked. "No, that is not all I am about. I am also about basketball. And you." Taylor laughed. "Really, I'm serious."

"I know," Taylor said. "That's what's so funny."

"Anyways, since it is a good morning, perhaps we should all go and enjoy it," Zeke said.

"Yeah, quit treating my house like a hotel," Sharpay said. Some of the kids laughed. "I'm serious." She didn't really look it. "No, really, I have to get back to the club sometime today."

"So do whatever you want. We don't need a mom," Chad said. Sharpay scowled at him. "I'm not afraid of you," he added, somewhat unconvincingly.

"Sure you're not," I said. "Is there anyone in this room that can honestly say they're not scared of Sharpay?" Two hands went up. Troy and Zeke. I raised my eyebrows at Zeke, and he put his hand down. "That's what I thought. Let's face it, Sharpay is a scary individual."

"Not as scary as the Boogeyman," Zeke said. Chad pointed at him.

"Good point. That dude's creepy," he said.

"You're still scared of the Boogeyman?" Taylor said. "Do you have your mommy look in your closet every night?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Taylor," Chad said. "I don't trust her to look. I look myself. In my closet, under the bed, and in my sock drawer."

"In your sock drawer?" Troy asked.

"You do not want some sketchy dude in your sock drawer. Trust me," Chad said. He looked dead serious about this Boogeyman nonsense.

"Okay," I said. "So we've covered that the Boogeyman is scarier than Sharpay, and that we don't want sketchy dudes in our sock drawers. Is there anything else to be covered?" Everyone around the table shook their heads. "Okay then. I'm going to get dressed."

"You have clothes on," Jason pointed out.

"Yeah. These are the clothes I was wearing yesterday, Jason," I said. He nodded in a way that tells you that he suddenly understands. I stood up and left the room. I wandered down the hall in the direction of the stairs, not having a real destination in mind, especially if Kelsi was still in my room, which I figured she was. I was still wandering down the hall when Troy came out of the dining room, three minutes later.

"Ryan," he said to the hall at large.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"I don't know," he said.

"That's nice, I guess," I said. "How'd you know I'd be wandering around the hall?"

"I didn't," he said. "I hoped you were."

"I really should be getting dressed, but I don't want to go up there," I said. "Kelsi's…"

"Yeah, man," Troy said. "What are you gonna do about her?"

"I have no idea," I said. "I think I might have made a deal with her that she wouldn't tell anyone I was gay, and I'd be her boyfriend. But, God, I do not want to be her boyfriend anymore, you know?"

"Yeah," he said. I slumped against the wall. "You just have to weigh the possibilities with the consequences. For instance, Kelsi loves you. She wouldn't tell the whole school you were gay. It'd hurt you too much. On the other hand, she might be bitter, and tell the whole school out of spite. What you have to figure out is which you'd rather be. Kelsi's boyfriend, or that gay dude."

"Honestly," I said, "I think I'd rather be 'that gay dude'. Kelsi is insane. Why the hell is she sleeping in my bed?" Troy shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "She is your girlfriend."

"Okay, you need to stop saying that," I said.

"It's true though," he said.

"Yeah, but I don't really wanna…whatever," I said. "She's my girlfriend. How does that make you feel?"

"I'm not sure, exactly," he said. I gave him a look. "Jealous, maybe."

"Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"She has it, I want it," he said. "That's what jealousy is."

"I know that," I said. "I just didn't realize that you would be…you don't come across as a jealous person." I paused for a second and remembered the few weeks before the talent show. "Okay, so you do get jealous, but…why were you all jealous when…oh."

"Right," he said.

"So you get jealous easily, huh?" I said.

"No. Maybe. A little," he said. "But only when it comes to you."

"That's cute," I said. "Okay, I'm gonna go break up with Kelsi." He nodded and I went up the stairs to my room to face what I was sure was going to be death.

* * *

I stood in front of my bedroom door. You might be wondering by this point why none of us seem hung over. Well, we were. I, though, was the least hung over I'd been after a party all summer. Life was good. Anyways, I stood in front of my bedroom door. I took a very deep breath and opened it. Kelsi was still lying on my bed, although she was very clearly not asleep.

"Good morning," I said.

"Good morning, RyRy," she said.

"Okay, I hate to do this, but we have to talk," I said.

"Talk, then," she said. I sat down on the edge of my bed and sighed.

"Look, Kelsi, this whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing isn't working out," I said. "It's honest to God not you, though, I swear." She didn't say anything. "So I don't think that we can continue this."

"It's because you're gay, isn't it?" she said. I half-frowned at her, mostly out of disbelief. _What the hell kind of question is that?_

"What? Of course," I said. "Why else would I be breaking up with you?"

"I don't know," she said, rolling over to face the windows.

"Kelsi, don't get me wrong. You are an amazing friend, and I appreciate everything you've done for me in the last week, but I think we need to go back to being just friends," I said.

"Okay," she said, still not looking at me. "If that's what you want, it's done." She might have been crying.

"Kelsi, please don't cry," I said.

"I told you, it's my fault. Why shouldn't I cry?" she said.

"No it isn't your fault," I said. "You can't help who you love. It's not a choice, just like it's not a choice to be gay. Trust me, if we all had our way in this, we'd always be together. But there'll be other guys for you, Kelsi. But, trust me, you'll always be my only girl."

"I know," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said. "When you're ready, why don't you come downstairs. There's breakfast and everything." She nodded. I gave her a hug and left my room. I walked halfway back down the stairs before I remembered that I had left the dining room to change. I didn't think it was a good idea to go back in there now. I finished the stairs, and took a left down the first floor hall to my closet annex. It's the sixth door on the right. Sharpay has one too, but hers is full of shoes. I changed into a different pair of pants, a red shirt, and a red and white striped (ish) hat. I went back down the hall, and after poking my head into the dining room to find it empty, continued into the living room, where I found Troy, Chad, Taylor, and Chuckie.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"In short, they went home," Chuckie said. I nodded.

"So, I broke up with Kelsi," I said.

"So Troy was saying," Chad said. "Did she go back to sleep?" I shrugged.

"I have no idea," I said. "She's still in my bed, so maybe."

"Um, I was thinking," Troy began.

"Mark your calendars," Taylor said. "It's a festivous miracle!"

"Yeah, so anyways, I was thinking, and I thought, 'Maybe it's not such a good idea to tell Kelsi about the "us" thing.' Not just yet, anyways," Troy said.

"Good thinking," I said. "She'd go insane."

"Totally," Chad said. "Worse than I did."

"Yeah, but that was different," Troy said. "It's not like you wanted us for yourself." There was a pause. "Right?"

"Dude," Chad said. "If I wanted you for myself, you would know."

"Too bad," Taylor teased. "Guess he doesn't like you after all, Troy." Chad simultaneously flushed and turned white.

"I do _not_ want Troy," he declared.

"If I wasn't _that_ sure you were straight, I'd be offended right now," Troy said.

"Thanks, man," Chad said.

"Hey, what about me?" I asked, mock offended.

"Yeah, what about Ryan?" Taylor asked. "Do you want him for yourself?"

"Why are we even having this conversation?" Chad squeaked, now thoroughly embarrassed. "I don't want any of you for myself. Except you," he added to Taylor, pulling her to himself and kissing her.

"Dude, we get it, you're straight," Chuckie said. "You don't have to flaunt it."

"Yeah, well," Chad began, although it was obvious he didn't have anything to say.

"Chad feels he has to go do something very manly at the moment to assert his masculinity," Troy said. "Like…going shopping…or…dancing."

"Yeah," Chad said. "I mean, no! Those things aren't manly!"

"Okay, so then what is?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said.

"Well, you'd be the one who _would_ know," Taylor said.

"I would say basketball, but apparently that's not a straight guy thing to do anymore," Chad said.

"We could go play, if you really wanted," I suggested. "Or not."

"Can't we watch a movie or something?" Chuckie asked.

"Sure, let's do that," Troy said. "What should we watch?"

"No idea," Chuckie said. "Something good." We all got up and went through into the entertainment room, where the DVD collection was kept. I flipped through the DVDs with Taylor attempting to look over my shoulder, but failing miserably.

"How about Harry Potter?" Chad suggested.

"Sounds good," I said. I pulled the first one out of its case and put it in the DVD player. I sat on one of the many little couches in the room. Troy sat down next to me, and I got a little weirded out. I ignored that, and we watched the movie.

"I know this is just my opinion, but Daniel Radcliffe is smoking hot," Chuckie said.

"Hell yeah," Troy said. I didn't know exactly what to say. I had never really thought about him that way.

"Oh, sure, this is a totally straight-guy thing to do," Chad said, burying himself lower in the couch he was sitting on.

"Oh, come on, you know you like it," Taylor said. Chad opened his mouth to say something, but Taylor silenced him in a way I'd rather not describe, that continued through most of the movie.

**A/N: I love teasing Chad. Thanks for reading and please review!! (Even if it is just a smiley face, or to tell me that I'm an awful writer, and that I shouldn't write after midnight ever, ever again. Although, that's kind of mean.)**

**PS, Chad and Taylor aren't up to anything bad, probably just making out, or something. Although, you know I wouldn't put it past them. They wouldn't try anything in the same room as Troy, Ryan, and Chuckie would they? I didn't think so. **

**PPS, about that "oneshot" I'm writing…it was originally intended to be a Troyella for my sister, but, you know me, I just can't write Troyella. So it's Ryella (and Chaylor and Jelsi) and either Troypay or Zekepay, I haven't decided yet. If you wanted to leave me a review (or a message) and give me your opinion on that, that'd be cool. The summary's on my profile (yeah, I know it **_**says**_** Troypay…blah, blah, blah.)**


	11. Evans' Mansion antics

Chuckie and Troy were actually watching the movie. I, however, was watching Troy. I still didn't feel totally comfortable with the whole "being with a guy" thing, but I was sure that Troy wasn't going to rush into anything. Around the time that Harry and Ron are on the train, Troy managed to get his arm around my shoulders. It was like we were 13 on our first date at the movies. I rolled my eyes at his subtlety, although he didn't notice. After an entire train ride of his arm being around my shoulders, I took his hand and pulled myself into him so I was leaning by upper body against his and his arm was around my waist. Ish. It's hard to explain. I could tell he was smiling even though I couldn't see his face. He tightened his hold on me, and I smiled too. I was very comfy sitting there on the couch with Troy. I reclined my head so it was resting on his shoulder, bringing his head into my field of vision. He actually _was_ smiling. I turned to watch the movie. Taylor and Chad were still doing their thing and Chuckie was totally glued to Daniel Radcliffe. _Maybe I can be okay with this whole "being with a guy" thing._

Troy seemed to have read my mind because he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Anything, anytime, anywhere. Whatever you want, Ryan." I smiled again and attempted to convey to him that this was a good plan without knocking our heads together or making a lot of noise. Eventually, I managed to succeed and went back to the movie.

At long, long last, the movie was over and the house lights came back up. (They're pretty sweet like that.) Chad detached from Taylor, clutching his eyes. "Dude, remember when I had corneas?" he asked. Troy and I laughed. I don't think Chad realized he was making the particular Chandler joke he was making, but he went along with it anyways. I was so comfy right there on Troy that I didn't want to move. He seemed to realize this.

"Okay, I'm stuck," Troy said.

"That you are," I said, with every intention of not moving.

"Ah, well, this is comfortable, anyways," he said. He made an attempt at shrugging without throwing me off of himself, and half succeeded.

"You guys might be _too_ adorable," Taylor said.

"We _might_ be too adorable? What kind of question is that?" Troy asked. "Of _course_, we're too adorable."

"And not conceited at all, obviously," Chad added.

"Not one bit," I said, lazily.

"So, you're not gonna let me get up?" Troy asked.

"Nope," I said. "It's not like you have anywhere to go. It's Sunday, and it's raining."

"It's raining?" Chad asked.

"Duh," I said. "Can't you hear it?" There was a pause while we all listened for the rain and there it was.

"Oh, yeah. It's kind of peaceful," Chad said.

"Could fall asleep right here, I could," I said.

"Oh, come on," Troy said.

"Nah, I probably couldn't," I said. "This one keeps talking." I pointed at Troy. He made a fake upset face and I chuckled. I stretched and rolled off of him onto the floor. "Although, it's not to say that the floor isn't comfy."

"Ha. Troy's comfy like the floor," Chuckie teased.

"Yeah, but have you _seen_ the floor? It looks pretty comfy," Troy said. He got off the couch and stretched as well, managing (somehow) not to step on me. He laid down next to me and sighed. "Yep, it's comfy." Chad laughed.

"I'm hungry," he said.

"You _just_ ate breakfast," Taylor pointed out.

"No, that was a long time ago. Troy, what time is it?" Chad asked.

"Around noon," Troy replied. I will never understand his uncanny ability to know what time it was all the time.

"Right, so therefore it's time for lunch," Chad said.

"But the floor is so comfy," I whined, although it was slightly muffled by the carpet and it came out "mutt the more is mo mumff."

"What?" Troy asked, laughing.

"I said," I said, raising my head off the floor to address him more properly, "mutt the more is mo mumff."

"Oh, that's what I thought," Troy said, standing. I sat up and he pulled me to my feet as well. Chad rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," Chad said. Troy gave him a look. "Sorry, man, I still don't believe it."

"Would you believe it more if it was you instead of Ryan?" Taylor asked. Chad got that look on his face again.

"Again, why do we have to continue to say things like that?" Chad asked.

"Alright, Chad. Are my boyfriend and I threatening your heterosexuality?" Troy asked.

"No," Chad replied.

"Are we threatening the sanctity of your relationship?" Troy asked.

"No," Chad replied.

"Then what _is_ the problem?" Troy asked.

"I don't know," Chad said. "I'm hungry."

"Big surprise," Taylor said. Chad led the way back into the dining room, where Kelsi was sitting. Troy and I looked at each other and held a silent mini-conference that basically meant that we weren't going to tell her anything.

"Good morning, Kelsi," I said, taking a seat on her side of the table.

"Isn't it afternoon by this point?" Kelsi asked. Troy nodded from across the table.

"Yeah, it is," Troy said. I just sighed at his clocklike behavior.

"You're a dork, Troy," Taylor said. _Thank you._ I was beginning to feel like I was going to have to say it.

"Thanks," Troy said. Chad laughed.

"Apparently Troy already knows," Chad said. "I'm hungry."

"So get down off your doghouse and eat," Kelsi said. I made a bad attempt to stifle a laugh.

"Doghouse?" Chad asked.

"She's implying that you're Snoopy," I explained.

"What?" Chad asked.

"You know, _You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown_," I said. "You know, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Rapp?" It was evident he had no idea what I was talking about. "Okay. Never mind then. Just eat." I wondered silently as I ate whether Kelsi was actually going to "out" me to the entire school. It'd be a very rude thing to do if she did. _But then, I guess, I probably shouldn't have made that deal in the first place. It was kind of stupid, in retrospect. But Kelsi wouldn't do that, would she? That would be really mean._

"Ryan, dude, what'cha thinking about?" Troy asked.

"Some stuff," I said.

"Anything important?" Kelsi asked.

"Not really," I lied. _No duh, it's important. Everything is important. Otherwise, I wouldn't care._ Kelsi nodded and went back to her food, and I tried to convey to Troy that we needed to talk sometime by ourselves. He nodded, even though I'm pretty sure he had no idea what I was trying to convey.

"So, how about those…" Chuckie began. I looked at him, wondering if he was going to finish his sentence. "…toaster ovens." I had to try really hard not to laugh.

"Yeah, they're a pretty neat invention," Chad said. "You put the bread in, and then it dings, and you take toast out."

"Right, I mean, where does the bread go?" Chuckie asked. I had to try not to laugh again.

"It turns into toast," Troy said.

"Whoa, no way," said Chad. By this time, even I could tell that they were being overly sarcastic.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either," said Troy. I just rolled my eyes and ate my sandwich. Sandwiches are the best food in the world. I don't even really care what kind of sandwich, just something two pieces of something with lots of stuff in the middle.

"You guys are _so_ immature," Taylor said, rolling her eyes and eating her sandwich.

"Where's Sharpay?" Kelsi asked suddenly. I looked around the table. I didn't know.

"Uh, she went back to the club," Troy said. "With Zeke."

"Random," Kelsi said. Everyone stared at her. "Well, it's not like they're really gonna do anything."

"Yeah," Chad agreed.

"And you can also put in, like, bagels and stuff," Chuckie said. "And those things that come in a box in your freezer. The timer dings and _poof_! Cooked food!"

"Yeah, it's amazing," Chad said, losing interest.

"But then there's also, like, those toasters with the rotating tray, so that you put your bread in and it goes through the back of the machine, and the toast comes out the front!" Chuckie continued. I wondered what the sudden interest in toasters was.

"Um, why the sudden interest in toasters?" Troy asked. _Can he read my mind? That'd be cool, but also a little creepy._ "No, I can't read your mind."

"Okay, that's weird," I said. Chad gave me another "I'll explain it later" look and I dropped it. I also tried not to think about anything too personal. I didn't know what Troy was doing, but he was darn good at it. "But, seriously, why the sudden interest in toasters?"

"They're an amazing invention!" Chuckie protested.

"Yeah, from, like, 1909," Taylor said. "Seriously, what's with the toaster?"

"A toaster oven is identified as the imaginary prize a lesbian receives for 'converting' a sufficient number of heterosexual women," Chuckie said. "It's from _Ellen_."

"Oh, I love Ellen DeGeneres!" Troy said. "She's so funny. I really liked _Finding Nemo_."

"I can speak Whale," Chad said. Everyone looked at him. "No, really, I can."

"Sure," Chuckie said. "Anyways, the reference to toaster ovens has become a common joke in the gay community since the episode of _Ellen_ in which it was first introduced."

"Oh, so that's why the toaster ovens," Chad said. "Yeah, that doesn't make any sense."

"It seems to me like I've heard that," Troy said.

"Trying to tell us something, there, Troy?" Chad asked. His voice might have had a hint of warning in it.

"No," Troy said.

"It's on Wikipedia," Chuckie said. "On the page about toasters."

"Okay, if we're done with the toaster talk, I'm done with lunch, and kind of bored," Kelsi said.

"Well, what do you want to, oh Queen Kelsi?" I asked. She frowned at the nickname.

"I need to get home, actually," she said. "My parents will kill me if I stay too long."

"Um, okay," I said. "Do you want me to take you?"

"Actually," Taylor said, "we were just leaving. We can take her."

"That sounds good," Kelsi said. "I'll just go and get my stuff." She left the dining room and we heard her go up the stairs.

"You guys didn't have to do that," I said.

"I know," Taylor said, "but I gotta get home too."

"Thanks," I said.

"Don't mention it," she replied.

* * *

20 minutes later, the only kids left at my house were me, Troy, and Chuckie. Troy was Chuckie's ride home, and I didn't really mind him around. It was apparent, if not evident or even obvious, that Chuckie had served as the main, if not only, confidante for Troy, as Kelsi and Chad had been for me. More Kelsi, than Chad, but certainly Chad. We weren't exactly sure what we were going to do for the rest of the day, but I figured we could find something to do, because this _was_ the Evans' Mansion, of course, and if all else failed, we could always watch another movie.

"So what are we gonna do?" I asked the other two boys.

"I don't know," Troy confessed. "Chuckie?"

"No idea," he said. "Usually in the afternoons, I like to sit down with a book."

"Yeah, I don't think it's come to that yet," I said. Reading is not exactly my strong point, unless it's a script or music of some kind.

"Okay, then, smarty-pants, what do _you_ want to do?" Chuckie said, probably more forcefully than he meant to.

"No idea," I said. "Haven't hung with you guys, since, like, the eighth grade."

"There's probably a reason behind that," Troy said. I made a face as if to say "I know".

"I know," I said. Chuckie shuddered at the thought.

"Let's hope that never happens again," I said.

"Let's really, really, really hope that never happens again," Troy said.

"That's beyond weird," Chuckie said.

"Beyond weird?" Troy questioned. Chuckie nodded. "Okay, the talking bird wants to know if–"

"Do _not_ finish that sentence, Troy Bolton! You know that makes me cry," Chuckie said. There were half-formed tears in his eyes. Animorphs is evidently a touchy subject around Chuckie. The whole quote is: "Weird? Weird? The talking bird wants to know if getting information on the location of an alien from a whale, that you've just saved from sharks, by turning into dolphins...You're suggesting that's weird?" It's from Book Four of Animorphs, which the greater power dictating the plot of my life does also not own, because if she did they would have ended better. Anyways…

"It was light-years beyond weird, but the weirdest part is how no one ever mentions it," I said. "And I know…blah, blah, blah, they asked us not to…blah, blah, blah…but it is a little strange."

"Now that you mention it," Troy said, "I don't actually remember them asking us not to talk about it. I think we all just decided we weren't going to talk about it."

"And, yet, here we are, talking about it," Chuckie said.

"Hmm, that _is_ strange. Lucky none of the offending parties are present," I said, laughing. "Can you imagine if Sharpay showed up suddenly?" Chuckie was staring at something right behind me. "She's right behind me isn't she?" Troy laughed, and Chuckie stopped staring.

"No, but that was good," Troy said, slapping five with Chuckie. "So what are we going to do?"

"Well, we could do something besides discussing what we're going to do," I suggested.

"Wonderful suggestion," Troy said. There was a long pause. "And _now_ what do you propose we do?" There was another long pause that was ended when Chuckie suddenly broke out into fits of laughter.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He managed to nod and somehow otherwise convey that he was completely fine. "What is so funny?"

"Troy and Sharpay's wedding," Chuckie managed to get out. Troy's face went white and completely blank. I think my face probably did the same. Chuckie was still laughing his head off. Eventually, he spoke again. "This is gonna be the funnest thing we've done since eighth grade! Can I _please_ be there when you tell her?" Troy was still too shocked to speak.

"You know, that's really…Troy's call," I said, looking at him. He was still totally blank, as if some invisible switch had been flipped in his brain, rendering him unable to say any words. I tried waving my hand in front of his face, but it didn't help. "Uh, any ideas on, uh, Troy?" I asked Chuckie, who, I thought, might know how to solve his problem.

"Uh, none that I can do," Chuckie said. I rolled my eyes. _Oh, great._ "No, but really I don't know. This has never happened before."

"Troy? Troy?! Troy! TROY!" I said, clapping in front of his face. He blinked and looked at me. "Troy?"

"Ryan?" Troy asked.

"Oh, nope, I was wrong, this _has_ happened before," Chuckie said. "Not in a while though."

"Troy, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be okay?" Troy asked.

"Because you were kind of out of it," I said.

"It happens every once in a while," Chuckie explained to me, "whenever someone brings up his and Sharpay's–" He lowered his voice "–wedding." I made a small noise, which should tell you that I was pretty much scared to death of Sharpay's wrath. Maybe that's why I hated Troy, anyways…that's not the point. At the time I was thinking something along the lines of _God, he's gorgeous_, and of course he was.

"Wedding," Troy said. "Wedding. God, what are we gonna tell Sharpay?"

"About…?" I prompted.

"This," Troy said. "Me. You. Us. Chuckie."

"What does he have to do with it?" I asked.

"Now _there's_ a long story," Chuckie said, laughing. I just put that out of my head, it was between Chuckie, Troy, and God, and it was certainly none of my business. I looked at Troy, who was having a minor silent panic attack with the looming thought of now having to tell Sharpay about his "relationship" with her brother.

"She's not gonna take this well, is she?" Troy asked me. I thought about it. She could be very happy for us, but that didn't sound like her. She was most likely going to be furious.

"I'm sure she'll be…happy…maybe…" I said. "Okay, that's a lie. She's going to be as furious as Kelsi. We're going to have a lot of people on our asses, aren't we now? And by 'we', I mean 'you'," I clarified.

"Gee, thanks," Troy said.

"But it'll all be fine, because Ryan's there to pick you up after Sharpay's done with you," Chuckie laughed.

"Don't laugh," Troy said. "What about you?"

"What _about_ me?" Chuckie asked. "I'm not the one dating her brother."

"Ha," Troy said. I still really wanted to leave _that_ between them, so I wasn't going to say anything. And I was beginning to feel uncomfortable about the whole sitch; Troy and Chuckie discussing whatever they had been in my living room, while I looked on. "That's not exactly true, is it?"

"Well, it isn't now!" Chuckie said. "You've got your loverboy." _Nice._ They weren't exactly arguing. It was more like they were passing time by chatting about the weather. If that weather happened to be Troy and all the things under the sun that he had possibly ever done in the presence of anyone, ever.

"Well, I wouldn't withhold that particular bit of information from the school's gossip queen," Troy said.

"I wouldn't want you to miss your makeout session with her," Chuckie said. Their statements kept getting farther from each other, and it was clear that they had no idea what they were doing. "Oh, no, wait, that's Zeke. My mistake." That one didn't even make sense.

"Guys, you do realize how ridiculous you sound, right?" I said, because there was a lull as Troy could evidently not come up with anything in return.

"Yeah," they said in unison.

"Just telling you," I said. "Carry on." They didn't say anything else. "Okay. Are you done acting like 12 year olds?"

"Funny you should mention 12 year olds…" Chuckie said, causing Troy to laugh. I wondered what on earth they were talking about.

"It was the summer we were 12, Ry," Troy explained. "That's when it happened." _What happened?_ "Remember? Sharpay and I 'broke up' except for not, and then you came and…it doesn't matter."

"Okay," I said. I honestly couldn't remember, but then I have so many musicals crammed in my brain, I was surprised I could even remember anything anymore. Besides, the summers were not my best times.

"Come to think of it," Chuckie said, "it was five years ago today. That's a coincidence."

"That's a joincidence with a c," Troy said, resulting in laughter again.

"You watch too much TV," I said, jokingly.

"There's not much else to do when you're me," Troy said. "Basketball and Thursday Night Shows."

"You lead a sad little life," Chuckie said. Troy laughed again, and I had the feeling I was missing something, but it didn't really matter to me. Like I said, I wasn't uncomfortable with having Chuckie around. It would have been different if Troy and I had made plans, but we hadn't, and I still wasn't quite settled in this whole Troy thing, and he knew that, which was why he had said that incredibly cheesy line during the movie that had served its purpose nonetheless. "Still playing Minesweeper?"

"Duh," Troy said. Something jogged in my memory, to about five years ago. I was at Troy's house. Why was I at Troy's house? Oh, yeah, we used to go over there a lot. "Minesweeper's the shit." Troy, Chuckie, Chad, and I had been standing on Troy' basketball court after a party with "the people", who were mostly basketball guys and cheerleaders, and me and Sharpay. Had they been together, even then? That seemed slightly implausible. We had been so young, after all.

"You're a dork," Chuckie said.

"I know," Troy said, "but you know you like it."

"Hell yeah," Chuckie said.

"Okay, this has gotten too weird," I said.

"Thank God," Chuckie said. "I was afraid we were going to have to get up and do something to get the point across."

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "It took you that long to realize this is weird?"

"No," I said. "Maybe. Yes. I don't know. I wasn't paying attention the whole time. And you sound really pathetic when you're pretending to argue."

"We know," Troy said, "but you know you like it."

"I do?" I asked.

"Of course," Troy replied confidently. Then he blinked and looked anxious. "Don't you?"

"Uh…" I began. I didn't know the answer. "I don't know."

"Give the boy some time," Chuckie said. "Geez."

"Can we do something more interesting than sitting around discussing ourselves?" Troy asked, now thoroughly bored.

"I don't know about that, but we could play a game," Chuckie said. "That one where you have to answer the questions or something like that."

"You mean 'never have I ever'?" I said.

"Yeah, that one," Chuckie said. "Like 'I Never' but without alcohol."

"Cuz that would be a shame," Troy said.

"You're not still drunk are you?" I asked. "You've been acting weird."

"Don't be silly," Troy said. "I got drunk enough last week to last a month."

"Okay, whatever," I said. "Let's play the stupid game."

"I'll start," Chuckie said. "Never have I ever…um…been in a school musical."

"Nice," Troy commented. "How are we going to keep score?"

"Way ahead of you," Chuckie said, showing us the paper he had set up as a way of scoring.

"Nice," Troy commented again. "My turn. Never have I ever…uh…wow this is hard…uh…wow, there's a lot of stuff I've done."

"Would you just go already?" I said, impatiently.

"Fine," Troy said. "Never have I ever had a sister." I have a sister, and evidently Chuckie also had a sister because we both lost that one.

"Okay, my turn," I said. "Never have I ever been on a basketball team." That was Troy and Chuckie.

"Damn," said Chuckie. "Never have I ever…been to Europe." That's me.

"Never have I ever voluntarily sung with Sharpay," Troy said.

"Are you guys _trying_ to get me out?" I asked them, annoyed. They looked at each other.

"Yeah," they said.

"Okay," I said. "Sounds good. Never have I ever donned a British accent and talked about the clouds."

"So you _do_ remember that day?" Chuckie asked.

"You do that all the time," I pointed out, even though they had done that one the particular day, 5 years ago, in question.

"Yeah, we do," Chuckie said. "Anyways, never have I ever been given some kind of ridiculous nickname by my mother." I laughed, because my mother calls me "Ducky" and I always thought it was funny.

"I am _so_ bad at this," I complained.

"You know you're having fun," Troy said. "Never have I ever seen Hairspray." _Damn._

"Fine," I said. "Never have I ever worked at a country club." About 20 minutes later, the game was still going on, and it was my turn again. "God, what else is there? Never have I ever…nope, I've done that…never have I ever wanted to move to Santa Fe and start a restaurant." The both of them stared at me. "I can't think of anything else I haven't done."

"Where the hell did that one come from?" Troy asked.

"RENT, obvi," Chuckie said. I was kind of surprised, even though he was right. "Anyways, you lose."

"I know, I think I was losing three seconds after we started," I said. "I figured I was going to anyways, I don't really know you guys that well."

"And if you're going to lose, you might as well lose in style," Chuckie said. "RENT's the shit."

"Hell, yeah," I said.

"Sure," Troy said.

"'Sure'," I mocked. "Seriously, have you even seen RENT?"

"Yeah," Troy said. "I just don't get the big deal with it. It's kinda sad, actually."

"Well, you're supposed to turn it off after La Vie Boheme," I said. "Then you don't have to see the sad parts."

"Sure," Troy said. He looked contemplative.

"What'cha contemplating, Troy?" I asked.

"I don't know," Troy said. "But, uh, I've gotta get home pretty soon. I said I'd be home by three."

"That's fine," I said. "I'll go back to the club. Wait, did I bring my car here? No. Hmm…" I was thinking out loud.

"Do you need a ride?" Troy asked me. I began to mumble something about calling Sharpay, but Troy cut me off. "Back to the club, it is, then. Come along, Chuckie."

"You guys aren't going to talk about the clouds again, are you?" I asked.

"No," said Chuckie. "It's still raining." I rolled my eyes. We all left the living room and traipsed out to Troy's truck, at which point we all crammed in. When we arrived at the club, I got out and thanked Troy for the ride and waved as they drove away. For some reason, as I walked up to my room, I felt as it I was walking on air. It was the weirdest feeling, but part of me knew it was right. The whole Troy business. It just felt right. And did I mention he's gorgeous?

**A/N: Okay, so word. Um, I don't really have much to say, besides I don't own anything, I hoped you liked it, thanks for reading, and please review!!**

**Oh, and there were a lot of spoilers for the upcoming prequel in this chapter. And I hope you'll read that too when this one is finished. (But don't expect that anytime soon.) I'm getting out of the material I've had written for a while and becoming a lot less confident with everything written, so reviews are very, very, very appreciated. There's probably only one or two more chapters before I'm going to have to get over writer's block. Ugh.**

**Oh, and longest chapter yet (sorry.)**

**Samantha.**


	12. Exes, Tall people, and Mountain Lions

**A/N: Story behind why I'm updating even though I didn't get very many reviews: to explain some stuff and because I'm bored, and when I looked the first chapter had 666 hits and I thought, "That can't be a good thing."**

**Explanation: Troy and Sharpay's wedding. Sharpay has thought, since kindergarten, that when she and Troy grow up, they will get married, even though they haven't gone out for quite some time, things would just work out. As I have mentioned before, 5 years ago is the setting for the prequel that I will be writing and posting as soon as I'm done with this one, which isn't for a while, but I have the ending planned out. So anyways, please read and when you're done please, please, please, PLEASE review. It makes me happy. Really happy. As in, I might just decide to post a new chapter on the spur of the moment because I get a review. Maybe (read: very probable).**

* * *

I was laying on my bed staring at the ceiling, sometime much later that evening, when there was a knock on my door. "Come in!" I called to it.

"Hey, Ryan. Didn't see much of you today," Zeke said, walking into my room. I shrugged, still looking at the ceiling. "Sharpay said I should bring you some food since you missed dinner a while ago."

"Thanks, Zeke," I said. "Does it involve cookies?"

"There are some cookies," Zeke said.

"Did you make them?" I asked.

"Of course," Zeke said. "Do you think I would serve you cookies that I didn't make?"

"Wasn't going to put it past you," I said, finally sitting up and accepting the food Zeke had brought me, even though I wasn't really hungry. "So, how are you and Sharpay?"

"We're fine," Zeke said, "I guess."

"She hasn't gone back to calling you 'tall person', has she?" I asked. Zeke laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, it's not that bad," he said. "She's just still totally into Troy."

"Didn't she get pissed off because he rejected her again?" I asked.

"Yeah," Zeke conceded, "but she's not giving up."

"You know, I talked to her about that," I said, taking a bite of one of the cookies. "These cookies are genius, by the way. She's had this preconceived, and totally false, I might add, notion that she and Troy are going to get married someday since, like, kindergarten. It's insanity."

"And when did they break up the last time?" Zeke asked, with a face as if he was trying to do some very high-end calculus in his head.

"Uh…wasn't it the summer before sophomore year?" I asked. That had to be right. It sounded right.

"That sounds about right," Zeke said. "Oh, well, I'd better go. Sharpay's waiting."

"Bye, Zeke," I said. He left my room, and my thoughts wandered around to Troy and Sharpay, where they dwelled quite often. If it ever came down to a point where I had to choose between the two, could I? _Well, I definitely could have before last night. _That would have been easy. Sharpay's always been my only real friend. But now that the whole Troy business had gone down, it was harder to choose. For some reason, whoever it is that dictates the plot of my life feels the need to interrupt my thoughts every three seconds, and there was a knock on the door. "Just come in," I said at the door.

"Hey, Ry," Sharpay said, coming in the room. "Are you okay? You've been in your room since you got back."

"Just resting," I said, shrugging.

"You may be a good actor, but you're a bad liar," Sharpay said. "What's really up?"

"I can't tell you," I said. Sharpay raised her eyebrows.

"And you think that will stop me from knowing?" she asked.

"No," I said simply.

"Alright, Ryan, who's the father?" she asked me. I spluttered, very taken aback.

"What?" I said. "I-What? There's a-What?"

"You heard me. Who's the father?" she repeated.

"Okay, I'm confused," I said, very confused. _The father? The father of what? Or whom?_

"The father. Of your child. Who's the daddy?" Sharpay asked.

"I am?" I asked, still very confused.

"Exactly," she said. "No, wait, what?"

"I have no idea," I said. "You're talking about kids and parents, and it's all very confusing."

"Whatever. So I heard you broke up with Kelsi," she said.

"Who told you that?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Kelsi," she replied in a "duh" tone of voice.

"Since when did you talk to Kelsi all the time?" I asked.

"Since she started knowing more things than I do," Sharpay replied. She paused, thinking, and then continued. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"No," I said.

"Are you sure? Because I'm going to give you one chance to tell me," she said. I gulped. _She knows, doesn't she? I can't believe she told her._

"She told you?" I said. "I can't believe her."

"She didn't want to tell me," Sharpay replied. "She more let it slip than anything. Kind of brings a whole new meaning to 'fabulous'."

"Mm," I said. Kelsi was really pissing me off today, and the joke wasn't really that funny.

"Why didn't you just tell me? You know I'd be fine with it," Sharpay said. _Yes, I'm sure you'd be fine with it if you knew who my boyfriend is._ "Anyone else know?"

"Chad," I said.

"Dating him, are we?" Sharpay teased.

"No!" I said. "He's dating Taylor, who also knows."

"I'm just kidding," Sharpay said. "You and Chad is worse than me and Chad."

"Sure," I said, not knowing where she was going with this.

"Can you imagine," said Sharpay, laughing, "you going out with one of my exes."

"Yeah, that's hilarious," I said, not meaning it. "So, how are you and Zeke?"

"Why? You're not dating him, are you?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "That's insanity. Just cuz he bakes, it doesn't make him gay."

"I know," she said, "but I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me."

"Well, if there is, I'm sure you'll find it out eventually," I said, "even though there isn't."

"Like I said, you're a bad liar, Ry," Sharpay said.

"I am not," I protested, but it's true. I'm a horrible liar, and everyone knows it.

"Yes you are," she said.

"I know," I said, resigned. Sharpay looked at me clock and jumped.

"My, look at the time," she said, getting up and heading for the door. "Night, Ry."

"Night, Shar," I replied as she left. _This cannot end up well for anyone._

* * *

The next morning, after my yoga class, I walked into the kitchen to get an orange to eat, and I ran directly into one Gabriella Montez and one Kelsi Nielson, who stopped talking immediately in a fashion that means they had just been talking about me.

"By all means, carry on your conversation," I said. "No need to stop on my account."

"Hey, baby," Kelsi said.

"Hey kids," I said, going around them to look for the fruit. "What's up?"

"My day," said Gabriella, grinning. _Jeez, I thought I asked Kelsi _not_ to tell._ I just rolled my eyes and continued my rummaging through the fridge for an orange. The both of them just stared.

"If it's taking you this long to come up with some sort of crude joke, I can tell this is going to be a long day," I said. "And if you're going to make one about the word 'fabulous' you can save your breath, because Sharpay's already done it." They continued staring at me and I continued ignoring them.

"So when are we going out this week?" Gabriella asked.

"Wednesday?" I asked. "Go and see a movie, maybe some food?"

"Sounds good," Gabriella said. "Or we could skip that and just do it in your backyard." I had two options. Throw an insult back, or round on Kelsi. I took the worse choice.

"Kelsi!" I said, turning towards her. She shrugged. "You're not supposed to kiss and tell."

"You're also not supposed to have sex and shut up," she pointed out. I sighed.

"Or we could skip all of that, and you could just go do it with your boyfriend," Gabriella continued. "I mean, I've had you once, why not let someone else have a turn?"

"He's not a sex toy, Gabriella," Kelsi said, rounding on Gabriella.

"And who said I even _have_ a boyfriend?" I asked. Gabriella rolled her eyes, ignoring Kelsi.

"Oh, please, it's _so_ obvious," she said. "You've been floating on cloud nine since Sunday morning. Either you've got a boyfriend or you really hate Kelsi."

"I don't hate Kelsi," I said. "I love Kelsi."

"Whatever, Ryan, you think whatever you want," Gabriella said, leaving the kitchen. I turned back to Kelsi.

"God, Kelsi, you don't think I hate you, do you?" I asked. She shook her head. "Good, cuz I don't. Gabriella's wrong sometimes, right?"

"Yeah," Kelsi said, shakily. "I've got to go work on some…piano things…" She wandered away from me into the piano room and I sighed, now holding the orange I had come into the kitchen for.

"You are _so_ not worth this," I said to it.

"Not talking about me, are you?" Troy said from behind me.

"No, I'm talking to this stupid orange," I said, realizing how ridiculous that sounds. "Really."

"That's not weird or anything," Troy said, laughing at the thought of me talking to an orange. "Where is everyone? I'm starving and this is my lunch break."

"I have no idea," I said. "I haven't seen 'Chef Zeke' all morning. You don't suppose…"

"Maybe," Troy said. "Doubt it. From what I hear, your sister's still pretty hung up on her ex."

"You mean you?" I asked Troy laughed.

"Of course," he said. "As if there'd be anyone else."

"What are you gonna do about her?" I asked.

"What do you mean me? What about you?" Troy asked. I sighed.

"Kelsi already told her," I said. "She was pretty good about it. Although she can be unbelievably confusing sometimes. She kept asking me who the father of my baby was."

"Wouldn't that be you?" Troy asked.

"Exactly," I said. "That's what I said. Then she got confused and forgot what she was talking about."

"That's weird," he said.

"I know," I said. At that moment, the kitchen door swung open, and Zeke came in carrying some dirty dishes. "You're not a waiter."

"I know," he said. "The kitchen's short staffed. Too many waiters had to caddy. Where's Chef Michael?"

"Got me," I said. Zeke sighed. "But I do know that I can make my own lunch. Don't worry about us." At that moment, Chad burst through the doors of the kitchen as well, although it was apparent he had just come in from caddying.

"Sorry," Chad said, hurriedly straightening his outfit up, "they had me caddying."

"Wow," Troy remarked. "Do you guys need my help?"

"Well, Mr. High-Paid Hotshot, teaching the kids to play golf," Chad said. "Suit up. Let's do this." Troy ran into the locker rooms.

"I'm fine, by the way," I said, holding up my orange, "unless you need more help."

"Nah, Jason's right behind me," Chad said. "He's just changing."

"Cool," I said. "I'll be outside when you guys are busying not being insane." _What the hell did I just say?_

"Bye," Zeke called over his shoulder. I took the "shortcut" through the locker rooms out to the pool, telling Troy where I was going as I did so. Out at the pool, I found Sharpay lounging in her chaise, sipping iced tea. I sat down in the chaise next to hers.

"Shar, let's talk," I said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because we never talk," I said.

"Fine," she said. "Let's talk then."

"Okay," I said. "So, like, remember what we were talking about last night–"

"Ohmigod," Sharpay said. "You're dating Chad!"

"No," I said. "Stop being ridiculous. I am _not_ dating Chad. Not that you would really care, anyways."

"Mm," she said, taking another sip of iced tea. "I wouldn't."

"Right," I said. "So, I was going to talk to you about–"

"You know, you and Chad would make a good couple," she said.

"Why? Why do you do that?" I asked. "That's ridiculous. I'm not interested in Chad. What would make you say that? It's just mean."

"Nothing," Sharpay replied, taking another sip. "You two have finally stopped your ridiculous arguing."

"And you've finally stopped ignoring Taylor, but you don't see me saying you two are dating," I said.

"That's because I, unlike you, am not gay," she said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, suddenly furious.

"Nothing," said Sharpay, looking at me for the first time in the conversation. "I was just pointing it out. I'm happy for you. Really." She paused. "You're really not dating Chad?"

"No!" I shouted. I never shout.

"You never shout," she said.

"Take the hint," I mumbled.

"Heard that," she said.

"I know," I said. I was getting fed up with Sharpay. And it was only Monday. Fortunately, I don't work for her.

"So, how are you?" Sharpay asked.

"I'm fine, thanks," I said, sarcastically. "Got into a light argument with Gabriella and Kelsi in the kitchen while looking for this orange, which, by the way, was not worth it, and then the boys had to waiter lunch."

"Do you remember if I have a golfing lesson with Troy this afternoon?" she asked me.

"Didn't he turn you down?" I asked.

"Yes. No. Maybe," Sharpay said.

"I heard he did. Actually, he told me he did," I said. "So stop pretending you can't play golf and get over him."

"I can't get over Troy," she said. I sighed. We'd had this conversation before, in fact, every time they had broken up since the sixth grade.

"Yes, you can," I said. "You did it before, you can do it again."

"I didn't do it before. Not really," she said.

"But you're dating Zeke," I replied. "And he's a great guy. So forget about Troy." _I have to keep her away from him. I can't have my sister after my boyfriend, can I?_

"Yeah, well, you're dating _somebody_," Sharpay said. "And I'm gonna figure out who." _This is so not good._

**A/N: So, yeah. Um, I don't own HSM or anything else, and thanks for reading and please review, because it makes me ever so happy.**

**Samantha.**


	13. Golf Course

**A/N: And so we come to the next installment of the story. Clarification from last time: Sharpay was insinuating that Ryan was pregnant, but he isn't, because he's a guy. If this was a funnier story, he might be, but he's not. Repeat: Not. Fun Fact: This is my favorite chapter that I've done so far.**

So, while Sharpay was busy being up to no good, I was busy sitting in the lobby, reading a book. Yeah, I was _reading a book_. I know, it is insanity. It was a good book, though. Assigned reading, summer homework, whatever you want to call it, it's a good book. Little Women. I liked it. Fortunately for my eyes, though, Troy interrupted my reading. We had made very hurried plans to do something after he got done work.

"So, what shall we do?" Troy said, as I marked my page in the book, and set it down in the window. "Were you actually just _reading_ that book?"

"Yeah, it's for English," I said. "I don't know what I wanna do."

"Let's talk then," he suggested. It sounded good to me. We walked out to the eighth fairway and sat on the grass in the beautiful Albuquerque dusk. He sighed and looked at the sunset. I lay back and looked at the sky. He joined me. "See any stars?"

"You do _not_ want to know what happened the last time I played that game, Troy," I warned him. He just laughed. "So, Sharpay's still claiming not to be over you." Troy nodded, expecting this. "And she's up to no good again."

"What is it this time?" Troy asked.

"Basically, she's positive I'm dating somebody, and she's not gonna rest until she finds out who," I said.

"S'pose we should just tell her?" Troy asked.

"It's your call, Troy. She already knows about me," I said. "She's gonna go mental though. I think there may be something wrong with her. I think she thinks I'm pregnant, and she thinks me and Chad would make a good couple." Troy snorted.

"Yeah, like you two would make any kind of couple, let alone a good one," he said. There was a pause, and I could tell he was looking at me. "But you're mine." Some people might take this is a creepy stalker type way, but it just reminded me of the song "As Long As You're Mine" from _Wicked_, which I proceeded to start humming. "You know I didn't mean that in a creepy stalker type way, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I know," I said. He was silent for a while, and we looked at the sky. I was very determined not to look at the stars, so I was staring at the moon, which I could just see.

"The sky is so pretty tonight," Troy remarked.

"The sky is pretty every night," I said. "What's so special about tonight?"

"I'm here with you," Troy said. It wasn't a great answer, but it was adorable. _Aww._ I rolled over to look at him, and he was looking at me again. "If the sprinklers turn on, I'm gonna kill your sister, just so you know."

"I will give you my full permission," I said. "And then I'll hire you a good lawyer so you don't have to go to jail, and we can spend sprinkler-less evenings watching the sun set from my golf course."

"Sounds like a plan," Troy said, laughing softly. Did I mention he's so adorable? And _so_ subtle, I might add. We'd been going out a whole two days, and he had barely touched me. Come to think of it, he'd always been subtle. It took him six months to kiss Gabriella, although I'm gonna blame that on the fact that– wait, what?

"Troy?" I said to the fairway at large, even though the only occupants were myself and Troy.

"Yes?" he replied.

"How long have you known you were gay?" I asked. It was a question that I kind of wanted answered, even though it was really awkward to ask.

"Around four and a half years or so," he said. _Jesus H. Christ, that's a long time._

"Wow," I remarked. "Okay, that's…a long time." I paused. "Really?"

"Yeah," Troy said, shrugging. "Hard to believe?"

"Not really. Yeah," I said. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well, the original plan was to have everything culminate on one day, and it would be awesome, except for it fell apart, and then I kept putting it off and putting it off, and then Chuckie talked to Chad, and he really decided on the date," Troy tried to explain. I nodded, not really understanding.

"So, what is this thing?" I asked, almost in mimicry to the question that Troy asked me about Gabriella.

"What thing?" he asked.

"This. Us," I clarified.

"Whatever you want, Ryan. I already told you that," he said. "Whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" I asked. He nodded. "What if what I wanted was ice cream?"

"Then I'd tell you to get it yourself," Troy said, laughing.

"Well, then, I guess it's a good thing that I don't want ice cream," I said. I noticed he was doing that thing again where he was about to make a 13-year-old-at-the-movies move again, and rolled my eyes. "You don't have to be so ridiculously subtle, you know."

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, this _is_ your first real 'relationship'," Troy said. "Shouldn't it be done right?"

"Yes," I said. "But that doesn't mean it should be done slow."

"So, it'd be okay with you if I just grabbed you," Troy began, "and started–" I didn't want to know what the end of that sentence was, and cut him off.

"No," I said. "Maybe. I don't know. I've never done this before. Ever."

"I know," Troy said.

"Now you sound like a creepy stalker person," I remarked.

"I know," Troy said again.

"You're so adorable," I said, rolling over to look at him again.

"I know," he said a third time.

"And so modest, as well," I said.

"Hey!" he said. "I am modest."

"Yeah, you're _so_ modest," I said. "Describe yourself to me in one word." Troy thought long and hard about his choice.

"Gorgeous," he finally decided. "But that's only because you only gave me one word."

"Okay," I said. There was a long silence while I stared, not really seeing, at him. I was actually half-expecting him to close the gap between us, but it was evident that he wasn't going to. "Do you s'pose someone's watching us?"

"We're in the middle of the eighth fairway, and it's nighttime. I'm sure no one can see us," he said. "Besides, Sharpay's out with Zeke tonight. He was telling us all earlier."

"I'm pretty sure she's insane," I said. "She likes you, and she likes cookies. I think if you baked chocolate chip cookies, you'd be, like, her perfect guy."

"Despite the fact that I turned her down eighty-seven times, and I like boys?" Troy asked.

"Right," I said. "She's getting annoying, too."

"When isn't she?" Troy asked.

"Good point," I said. There was still a noticeable gap between me and Troy, and I decided to close it at that moment, cuddling into him.

"Aww," Troy said, jokingly. I resisted the urge to laugh, and Troy put his arms around me. "Your hair smells amazing, btw."

"You know, 'btw' takes longer to say than 'by the way'," I pointed out.

"But sometimes you just have to say 'btw'," he said. I rolled my eyes. He pulled me a little tighter, and it felt so comfy right there. I moved my head a little to look at him. "What?"

"Nothing," I said. There was a silence, while I contemplated what to say next. "So, did you really not think I was gay?"

"Nope," Troy said. "That was a total lie. I kind of always just assumed, and then Gabriella happened, and then Kelsi happened, and I started hoping, and praying, and whatnot."

"You know that was less than a week ago, Troy," I said. _Wow. Less than a week ago, I was straight. That's a new revelation._

"I know," he said. "That's why I figured I had better stop procrastinating and tell you."

"But why me?" I asked.

"I think you know why," he said.

"I think I do too," I said. "And you don't have to say it."

"I know," Troy said a fourth time. I smiled to myself. I was going to have to kiss him at some point. But at this point, I wasn't really ready. I hadn't gotten to really savor my actual first kiss (with some girl at a party once, I think. I could be wrong. I do insane things when I'm drunk) and the first one with Kelsi hadn't been that special. I really wanted this to be something I'd remember for the rest of my life. Of course, I was sure he wasn't leaving any time soon, so I had plenty of time to plan said kiss, and I knew he wasn't going to initiate it. Having Troy so close to me felt good.

"I know you know," I said.

"And I know you know I know," he said.

"And I know–" I began.

"We could do this all night," Troy interrupted.

"Yeah, we could," I said. "Or we could just stay like this."

"Yeah," Troy agreed, exhaling in a satisfied way. "Seriously, though, about the sprinklers. I mean, I know I sound paranoid, but it's like those things are out to get me!"

"Sure," I said, laughing a little. "I'm sure the _sprinklers_ are out to get you."

"You're right," Troy said. "I'm sure it's just karma out to get me for intentionally trying to kiss a girl."

"Girls are icky," I joked, like a five year old would about cooties.

"Damn straight," Troy replied. I laughed a little. Hearing Troy talk about girls in such a light was weird. I mean, he was Troy Bolton, basketball king. The Golden Boy. Whatever you want to call him. He had cheerleaders hanging off of him left and right. And he thought girls were "icky". Call in the professionals, two seats for the loony bin. "You still can't believe it, can you?"

"How come you can tell what I'm thinking?" I asked.

"Easy," Troy said. "After a while of staring at you, it gets easy to tell. Like in morning homeroom, more often than not, you're wondering whether your socks match your hat." _Damn._ "And right now you're wondering how you could possibly be that obvious to let people know that you're wondering if your socks match your hat, especially because no one could ever possibly get them close enough together to tell." _Double damn._ "And now you're wondering again how I figure this stuff out. I'm not gonna lie, it was hard at first. But when you're looking at your socks, and then rolling your eyes up into your head trying to use X-ray vision to see your hat, it's kind of obvious."

"How did you know I have X-ray vision?" I asked, jokingly.

"Come on, it's _so_ obvious," Troy replied. "After all, why would you stare so much?" I blushed. I was, in fact, guilty of staring at Troy on countless occasions, especially during class. "But seriously, why would you care if your socks matched your hat? It's not like anyone ever sees your socks. They're in your shoes."

"That's not the point," I said. "It's the thought of them not matching. It doesn't matter if no one's gonna see them. It's just something I picked up from Sharpay."

"Because if you weren't a twin, you wouldn't worry about your socks matching your hat?" Troy asked, still joking. "That would explain why no one else I know worries about their socks matching their hats."

"No one else you know _wears_ hats, Troy," I pointed out. "Outside of Wildcat pride gear, of course. Red, white, and gold, Wildcats, get'cha head in the game, blah, blah, blah," I added, really unenthusiastically, and somewhat grudgingly, not wanting Troy to think I was dissing his one joy.

"You know, I have more than one–" Troy began. "Never mind. It's pointless to argue with your thoughts."

"Did I have that 'I hate jocks' look on my face? Because I swear I don't use it a lot," I said, quickly.

"Nah. It's just the face you've used for the past…oh, since kindergarten…to describe anything related to Wildcat pride, or me," Troy said. "Including several snorts, all but one of which I'm pretty sure I deserved."

"Yeah, well, sometimes they were directed at Sharpay," I protested.

"I know," Troy said yet again.

"You really _are_ a creepy stalker person, aren't you?" I asked, faking concern. "What have you done with Troy Bolton?" This would have been a really good opener for a tickle fight. I contemplated it for a millisecond, and decided to go for it. Troy, evidently also realizing the perfect set up for a tickle fight, braced himself for it, and three seconds later, we were engaged in a tickle fight, both of us laughing hysterically. Eventually, I ended up calling uncle (I'm really ticklish), but not before I was laying on top on him.

"You're blocking my view of the sky," Troy fake-complained. I looked down into his bright blue eyes, and again make a split-second decision on what I was going to do. We locked lips, not without sufficient passion, but definitely not enough to do anything about. The (super awesome!) kiss was over very soon after, and I went to roll off Troy, but he stopped me. I was surprised, he'd hardly made any decisions of his own in our relationship. I lay face down on top of him, still slightly winded from the kiss and the tickle fight preceding it. Troy decided to take matters into his own hands, and kissed me again. We got very into that kiss, tongues battling each other for whatever the hidden prize was. After that kiss, I actually did roll off of him. Then would have been a great time for Troy to say he loved me, but he didn't, and I was thankful, because I wasn't sure if I could truthfully say it back just then.

**A/N: Are they adorable or what? The "hidden prize" is probably a toaster oven. (smiley face). I think **_**someone**_** needs to get a toaster oven at the end of the story, mostly because that's funny. Opinions? Leave a review.**

**If I didn't own high school musical yesterday, what makes you think I own it today?? Jeez. I also don't own Wicked, or anything else.**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!!**

**Samantha.**


	14. Shopping: idiocracy and hilarity ensue

The next morning, I woke up in my room, Troyless. The night before had been an amazing night. The sky was beautiful (and no, we didn't do _that_. Especially not on the golf course.) and…well, basically it was a good night. I looked around my room trying to remember exactly what it was that I was supposed to do that day, when my phone rang. I sighed and picked it up. "Hello?" I asked it.

"Ryan!!" squealed a particularly happy person on the other side of the phone.

"Yeah," I said.

"You're not dead!" the person said very happily.

"Uh, not that I know of," I said.

"Okay, thank God," she said, sounding relieved.

"Kelsi?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" she said.

"Okay," I said. "Just checking. Why did you think I was dead?"

"Uh, no reason," Kelsi said. "I gotta go."

"Okay," I said. I hung up. _That was unbelievably weird._ I got out of bed and stretched, still trying to remember exactly what it was that I was supposed to do that day. It wasn't until after I took a shower and was half dressed that I remembered. Troy had the day off! And we were supposed to get together. I quickly looked at the clock. 9:30am. I had some time to get properly dressed before we were supposed to go out. I wasn't sure what he was going to propose we do, but I figured it would be fun. It took longer than usual for me to get my hair just right, and I only just arrived downstairs in time to meet Troy, who beamed at the sight of me. _I can't get over how unbelievably adorable he is being about this entire thing._

"So, what are we doing today?" he asked me. To tell the truth, I hadn't really thought about it that much.

"I don't know," I said. "Let's go somewhere and do something."

"That's really descriptive," Troy replied, laughing.

"You come up with something better," I challenged. He couldn't. "Okay, so who's car are we taking?"

"You have a car?" he asked. I just stared at him.

"Duh?" I said. "How else would I get around?"

"I've never seen you drive before," he said.

"Very perceptive, aren't we, Troy?" I said. "Of course I drive." I led the way around to my garage, showing him my car.

"It's very shiny," Troy remarked.

"Is that all you know about cars?" I asked. "A car is good if it's shiny, and it's bad if it's not?"

"If that was true, that would explain why my truck is a heap of junk," Troy said.

"It's not very shiny," I said. We got into my car, and I started driving towards the first place I could think of, which happened to be the East Albuquerque mall.

"You're taking me shopping?" Troy whined.

"Take it like a man, Troy," I said, although Troy missed the musical reference. "You need some real clothes. And not those pathetic excuses for clothing. Jeans and a tee-shirt? Honestly."

"Well, I _do_ want to look good," Troy said. "But won't people wonder why we're shopping together?"

"Who said anything about shopping?" I asked, winking. Troy gave me a look halfway between utter confusion and horror, and I just laughed, walking into the mall as I did so, with Troy right behind me.

"Okay," he said, after we'd walked around the mall taking in all the glamour that was a Tuesday morning. "So, where do we start?"

"Well, we don't want you to come off too good looking," I said, "or you might out shine me."

"Oh no," Troy joked. "We couldn't have that."

"Shut up," I said. "I guess Abercrombie?"

"That place gives me the creeps," Troy said. "It's always dark and the pictures are in black and white."

"But there's shirtless guys in the pictures," I reminded him.

"I'm in," Troy said immediately. We shopped around in Abercrombie for a while, and Troy ended up with a new pair of jeans (stylish, if I do say so myself) and a couple polo shirts. I headed next door to Hollister. "Hollister? Really?"

"Yeah," I said. He shrugged. I ended up pulling him around to American Eagle, The Gap, and Macy's. He actually ended up with a fair amount of new clothes, and so did I, although not nearly as much.

"These are really nice clothes," Troy said, as we sat down to eat lunch in the food court. "I'm impressed."

"Because you assume that I, like most guys, have no fashion sense or taste?" I asked.

"No, because you picked them out and I actually like them," Troy said. "I'm hungry though." As if by some random stroke of luck, you'll never believe who came along just then. Yeah, it was Chad.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Chad said, sitting down at our table.

"Um, not much, Chad, what's up with you?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said. He looked at me, and my face must have been sporting an odd expression. "What?"

"Uh, curious as to what you're doing at the mall on a Tuesday afternoon," I said.

"She dragged me here," Chad said.

"Taylor?" Troy clarified.

"Taylor," Chad confirmed.

"So, what's wrong with Taylor?" I asked. They had always gotten along so well.

"Nothing!" Chad said. "But I hate shopping."

"Hey, shopping's not all that bad," Troy said. "We had fun."

"Uh-huh," Chad said. "You've got to get me out of here." Before we could speak, Taylor sat down next to him. "Hi, Tay."

"You found them," Taylor said. "I figured they'd be here."

"Okay, now _she's_ a creepy stalker person," I said to Troy, who laughed.

"No tickle fights in the mall," Troy told me, and I fake pouted a little.

"Tickle fights?" Chad asked. "What have you been up to?"

"Tickle fights," Troy said, dead seriously, but also like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Duh," I added for good measure, and Troy finally cracked under the pressure of not laughing and started laughing.

"Uh-huh, sure," Taylor said. "I'm sure that's _all_ you've been up to." Troy looked immediately around us to make sure no one was listening.

"That is _all_ we've been up to," he said. I made a bad attempt to stifle a laugh by turning it into a cough, but it didn't work.

"What did you two _do_ last night?" Taylor asked, now very interested.

"Nothing," I said, quickly, but Troy rolled his eyes.

"Just tell them," he said.

"I don't wanna. They'll tease us," I protested.

"This isn't the seventh grade," Chad said. "No one's going to be 'teasing' anyone else."

"Whatever," I said, digging into the food in front of me. Chad and Taylor both turned expectantly to Troy, who quickly looked around, and then whispered something in Taylor's ear. Taylor's eyes got very wide at first, but then her face fell.

"Is that all? I was hoping it was something a little more interesting than that," she said.

"We're not rushing anything," Troy explained, also eating his food. "Ryan's never done this before."

"And you have?" Taylor asked.

"Well, yeah," Troy said.

"Okay, TMI," Chad and I said at the same time. If "Jinx!" hadn't been out of fashion since 2001, I would have done it.

"So, have you told anyone else yet?" Chad asked us.

"Uh, no," Troy said. "We're – well, I'm – not ready."

"And how does Ryan feel?" Taylor asked. I shrugged.

"Kelsi started telling people Sunday night, and Sharpay's trying to investigate on my personal relations, but other than that I'm just great," I said.

"Kelsi started _telling_ people?" Taylor asked. "That's just not like her."

"I know," I said. "It was just Sharpay and Gabriella as far as I can gather, but I have the feeling other people know too. And then she called me this morning to make sure I was alive. It was weird."

"She probably just had a dream that you died," Chad said. "It happens sometimes. I had a dream once that my parents were aliens and that color-blind dementors were trying to suck out my soul. It was bad."

"I had a dream once," I said, suddenly remembering. "It was about the end of the world. It's dinosaurs. They were roaming the earth and that was what was causing the end of the world. And among all of this, I'm trying to save everyone from the dinosaurs. I'll cut to the chase. And Sharpay, she was there in her swimming suit, and she said, 'I just want to lay out and tan.' I said, 'There's dinosaurs coming.' She said, 'Ah, I just – I just want to get a tan.' I was worrying about saving the world from dinosaurs and she wanted to get a tan." (**A/N: Watch Lucas say this on "crazy cast questions" it's hilarious.**)

"Did the dinosaurs get her?" Chad asked, a little too enthusiastically. Taylor slapped his arm.

"No," I said. "Jackie and Lea saved her from the Pterodactyls. It was cool." Chad looked disappointed. "Hey, that's my sister. She may be mean sometimes, but it'd still be sad if she died."

"Mm," Troy and Chad said at the same time. Taylor was thinking it, I could tell.

"You can't all hate Sharpay," I said. "Sure, she's mean sometimes, but think about how sad Zeke would be if she wasn't around."

"Yeah, I'm sure it would take so long for him to find someone else to feed his cookies to," Chad said. Taylor slapped his arm again.

"He's right," Taylor said. "We might not like Sharpay, but it's not like everything she does is bad."

"Except for she's after Troy," Chad pointed out.

"I can handle myself," Troy said.

"Yeah, he knows how to swim," Taylor said.

"You're not allowed to quote me," Chad said. "That quote is copyright 2007 Chad Danforth."

"Whatever," Taylor said. "We have to get going soon. Chad needs new pants."

"I do _not_," Chad protested, but followed his girlfriend away from the table.

"That was eventful," I remarked to Troy, who nodded. "I know you can handle Sharpay, but whenever you're ready to tell her, I'll be right there with you."

"I know," he said. "Thanks, Ry." He smiled, and I smiled back.

* * *

When I arrived back at Lava Springs with Troy, there was a loud screech and Sharpay started calling my name. I rolled my eyes and followed the melodious (ha) sound of her voice, which was emanating from a lounge type living room place for the guests. Troy followed me. Sharpay was sitting on one of the couches, and Kelsi was there, too. All the people I didn't want to see in one room. Hooray.

"Ryan, sit down, there's something I need to discuss with you," Sharpay said. I was weirded out, but took a seat anyways. Troy also took a seat in the chair near mine. "Alright, Ryan, who's the father?"

"What?" I asked.

"You heard," Sharpay said. Troy immediately burst into laughter.

"I'm not pregnant! Why does everyone keep saying that?" I said very loudly. "Didn't anyone take Biology?" I looked around the room to realize that no one actually had, because Sharpay never pays attention in class, Kelsi was usually in the music room during that class, and Troy was laughing too hard to form any coherent words. "Jeez." I scowled around the room and curled into a ball in my chair.

"Well, then, at least tell us who you're dating," Kelsi said.

"Since when did the two of you start comparing notes?" I asked. The looked at each other and shrugged. "Who said I was dating anyone?"

"You did," Sharpay said.

"I did?" I asked. "When?"

"Yesterday," Sharpay replied.

"Oh," I said. "I don't remember that."

"So, what you are saying is that you do _not_ have a boyfriend?" Kelsi asked. It took a lot of self control to not glance at Troy, who had stopped laughing in light of the serious conversation.

"Uh…yeah. I don't have a boyfriend," I said. I could tell Troy was being sad, but I still didn't look at him.

"Ryan…" Troy said. Finally, I looked at him. "He is seeing someone." Sharpay and Kelsi turned to look at him. He cleared his throat. "Me." There was an awkward silence, in which the two girls just stared at Troy. Then, Sharpay burst into laughter, and Kelsi looked like she might do the same.

"Yeah, right," Sharpay said through her laughs.

"No, really," Troy said. Kelsi still looked skeptical, and Sharpay was busy laughing.

"Yeah," I said. "It's true."

"Damn," Sharpay said, turning off the laughs. She dug around in her pocket and handed something to Kelsi.

"We're you guys…betting on us?" I asked.

"Kind of," Kelsi said.

"Isn't that kind of plagiarizing Chad?" Troy asked. "He's the one with all the bets."

"He knows already, yes?" Sharpay asked. Troy and I nodded. "So what's the point of dragging him into it?" Troy and I shrugged.

"So who did you say I was dating?" I asked Sharpay, since she evidently lost the bet. "And if you say Chad…" I let the threat hang.

"She said Chad," Kelsi confirmed. I frowned at the thought. As much as we liked to tease Chad about his heterosexuality, threatening it was not something I'd like to do. I'd like to live to my eighteenth birthday, at least.

"I told you it wasn't Chad," I said. "Like seventeen times."

"But why didn't you just tell us before?" Sharpay asked.

"I was…Troy's not…" I began.

"I've never told anyone before," Troy finished for me. _He's so adorable._

"Well, this is fabulous! I have to tell everyone," Sharpay said.

"No!" Troy and I said at the same time.

"Come on," Sharpay said.

"No," Kelsi said. "If they don't want to tell people that's their choice. I'm sure it took a lot of guts for Troy is say that anyways." She shot a look at Sharpay, who was sporting an annoyed face. "I have to go and meet Jason." She left through the back door to the room.

"So, Troy, you'll go gay for my brother, but you won't even look at me?" Sharpay said.

"No, that's not–" I began.

"I can't _believe_ you," Sharpay continued. "All that time, wasted. What has he got that I don't?"

"Besides the pretty obvious things?" Troy asked, making Sharpay scowl. "Just asking."

"But, Shar, would you just not tell anyone?" I asked, quickly, because she looked like she was going to slap him. "Please? As a favor? To me? Your only brother?" She scowled some more, her face contorting from side to side as she thought.

"Fine!" she said, finally. "But this has not gone over well with me." She spun around and left without another word.

"That went well," Troy remarked sarcastically.

"You really didn't have to do that," I said.

"I know," he replied. "But I wanted to." _Aww._

**A/N: So, I just realized that I make more cheesy adorable endings to chapters than the traditional cliffhanger ones, because, as a reader, cliffhangers really, really annoy me, and I'm sure that would annoy anyone else, especially if I was suddenly taken ill and wasn't able to update for a long, long time. Which I'm not planning on, and speaking of which, the next chapter's half done, or maybe all the way done depending on where I split it.**

**I officially have more people on alert for this story than for Who's Getting Married, which I'm not sure to be happy about or not. Um, but I don't own HSM, or Legally Blonde, or any of the stores, or anything else that I have forgotten that I might have referenced.**

**PS. You'll note that Kelsi was going to meet Jason. More on that in later chapters. I thought of a good subplot for them. The next chapter sets up more for the prequel, and a possible sequel, that isn't really a sequel, just another story, with background info from this story. And since I started writing that one too, I had to…you know what? It doesn't matter. Eventually all the idea in my head will be online. Oh, and does anyone ever find it weird how Jason is always the one who is the homophobe? Either that or it's Chad? Why does **_**anyone**_** have to be a homophobe? Really.**

**So…Thanks for reading (especially if you read through this entire note) and please, please, please review, because it makes my room cleaner when you do, and it inspires me to write more. I also somehow get inspiration to write when I stay up until 4am, which I'm sure isn't healthy, but what time do you think I started this story? That's right…5am. I don't understand it. I need to stop babbling.**

**Anyways, thanks again, and extra thanks for when (not if, when) you review!**

**Samantha.**


	15. Um, what?

**A/N: You know, I really do spoil you guys. I was just so bored after I posted everything this weekend...I couldn't wait to post any longer. Plus, I'm just dancing around my room to "We're All in This Together" about a hundred times (which, btw, is very exhausting.) Um, and the several paragraphs in italics are Ryan's internal monologues (thoughts) and semi-flashbacks that he's thinking about.  
**

Later that evening, I was sitting around my living room, contemplating how well Sharpay had taken the news of me and Troy, all the while continuing to think about him. I mean, I couldn't _not_ think about him, he was sitting right there.

"You're thinking about me," he said.

"Get out of my head!" I teased.

"Sorry," he said. "You're not exactly that discrete in your thoughts."

"Troy, since you explained that, would you mind telling me exactly what goes on with your stupid watch thing?" I asked. He frowned at me.

"What?" he asked. I sighed.

"Troy. What time is it?" I asked.

"Summertime!" he said immediately. "No, but it's…um…6:37. Why?"

"And how exactly do you know that?" I asked.

"Check me if I'm wrong," he said. I looked at my own watch to verify that this was, indeed, the time, and sighed. "Told you." It was at this point when I realized that I would _never_ understand what it was about, and I just gave up completely.

"Never mind," I said.

"No, explain to me what it is that is bothering you," he said. "Communication is key in a relationship."

"I said never mind," I mumbled. "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does," Troy protested. "Come on, just tell me." I finally cracked under the pressure.

"You're not wearing a watch!!" I finally shouted. He looked up at me blankly.

"Why would I need to?" he asked.

"Most people do," I said, my voice coming down, like, ten notches.

"I pity them," he said. I just shook my head. Maybe I'd find out someday, but today was not that day.

"Okay then," I said. "What shall we do now, since it's 6:37?"

"It's 6:39," Troy said, not even looking at his wrist to verify this.

"Whatever," I said. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, we could…" he began. He was (very, very subtly) asking for a make-out session, or another kiss, at least. He did deserve it. After all, he had come out twice, and that was quite an accomplishment. You know, for him. He's Troy. Troy Bolton. The Golden Boy. One-half of East High's "it" couple. Basketball Captain. Freaky Callback Boy. Whatever you wanted to call him. But he was flawed as well. We all have our flaws, though, right? Right. Okay, that sounds really cheesy, but ignore that part!

"Sounds good," I said, cupping his face, and bringing it in for a kiss. Pulling away a little bit afterwards, I said, "And _now_ what do you want to do?" He smiled at me, and pretended to think for a minute. "Do my socks match my hat?" I asked, suddenly, interrupting his thought processes, and causing him to laugh pretty hard.

"Considering you're wearing neither a hat, nor socks, I'd have to go with…no," he said. I pretended to be very concerned and grabbed above my head, trying to feel for a hat.

"I've been burgled!" I said, causing Troy to laugh even more. He took my hat from the coffee table and put it on my head. "Whew. Glad we got that taken care of. Almost makes me feel naked." Troy's face lit up at the word "naked" but I gave him a look (halfway between a scowl, a frown, and a smirk, where one eyebrow is raised, and the other is lowered, and you're smiling really creepily. Try it in front of the mirror, it's fun.) and he dropped it. There was a silence while I cast around for something to talk about, and Troy giggled over the hat thing. "So…tomorrow's Wednesday," I finally said.

"So what?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Wednesday last week was a very interesting day for me."

"Right," Troy said. "The whole Kelsi thing. Is she really out with Jason again?"

"I don't know," I said. "You never can tell with them."

"Like you never can tell with Chad and Taylor?" Troy asked.

"Or you and Gabriella?" I responded, earning a similar look to the one I had given him earlier. "Just asking."

"There's nothing going on between me and Gabi," he said. "There never really even was in the first place."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You were the 'it' couple. The one couple every other couple wants to idolize."

"Oh, sure," Troy replied. "The basketball captain and the transfer student, meet on vacation, come back to school, audition for a musical–"

"And win," I added.

"–continue through February, March, April, up to Prom basically going to the movies every now and then, besides hanging out after school, and with the drama club, go to Prom together, making their first actual appearance as a 'couple', win Prom King and Queen due to said basketball captain's social status, pissing off several people–"

"Including myself," I added.

"–then continue on through the rest of May and June like nothing's weird, and then finally landing on the last day of school, where the student body decides it likes to sing again, gets employed at a country club together by said basketball captain's social status–"

"And Sharpay's big time crush," I added, "and me, I think."

"–break up, conduct a talent show, consequently regaining the respect of the student body and getting back together, throw a pool party, thus concluding yet another singing era of said high school, oh and I forgot, somewhere between 'respect' and 'end of an era', said couple lands first kiss after months of awkwardness and _extremely_ well timed interruptions, including several sprinklers that are out to get me," Troy finally finished. "Every couple wants _that_?" I nodded and shrugged.

"That's what comes with being an 'it' couple," I said.

"Well, just throw in the fact that the basketball captain is quickly going gay for the ice princess's poodle, and you've got yourself a soap opera," Troy said.

"Ha," I said. It wasn't that funny. "I'm not a poodle. And I resent the fact that anyone would think that I am."

"Hey, I never thought you were a poodle," Troy said.

"Except for that one time," I said. "You walked over to me and started petting my head saying, 'Good poodle. Nice poodle. Don't bite, no. What's your name?'." Troy laughed.

"That never happened!" he protested. I decided to go one step farther.

"And then you took me home and tried to dye me pink, because you said that Sharpay's really always wanted a pink poodle, and it would be just _fantastic_ if you could give her one," I said.

"I never tried to dye you pink!" Troy protested. I tried to go on, but I had to stop talking to laugh really hard at the look on Troy's face. He was very, very red, and his expression was halfway between amused, afraid, and nauseous.

"Look at your face!" I managed to get out through the laughter now engulfing me. Troy fumbled around for something to look at himself in, but didn't find anything until after the face was gone.

"What?" he asked, not seeing.

"Aw, you missed it," I said, my laughter subsiding. "It was funny." He sighed and fell back into the couch, arm around me. The awkwardness surrounding physical proximity between the two of us had subsided a lot since Sunday. We hadn't really hung out for a long time, and I was beginning to remember how much I had missed it, when it had first stopped.

_When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for you to choose sides, the choice may not always be easy. In fact, sometimes, the choice will be difficult. Other times, it will be a no-brainer. This, of course, was one of those._

_We were standing on a basketball court. Troy, Chad, Sharpay, and I. I think everyone was glaring at everyone else. Then, after some choice words from both sides, Troy and Chad went one way, while Sharpay went the other. I turned to follow her, looking over my shoulder as I did so. If she wasn't my sister, my twin, my other half, basically, I probably wouldn't have done it. I would have just been standing there in the middle of the basketball court at the park all night, and I'd probably still be standing there to this day, although I would have long since forgotten why. But the decision seemed right, for some reason. Like I didn't belong with them. Chad and Troy were just people. Just exes. Just ex-friends. People who were meant to be thoroughly ignored. I got the worst end of this deal, though, as they were the jocks, and ran most of the school. Somehow I came off as the victim in this situation, even though it wasn't my fault I was just Sharpay's walking accessory. There were no victims, and no perpetrators, just ex-friends._

_In the weeks to follow after "the Decision", I spent a lot of my time alone in my room, wondering what Troy and Chad were up to. I had never really been on the best terms with Chad, but we could be friends if we wanted to. Even so, neither attempted to talk to me for a long, long time after that fateful day, and I was sad. I swore off jocks altogether, stopped playing sports, just basically disconnected myself from their world. And they stayed out of mine, for the most part, until Gabriella came along. She (single-handedly, I think, because I'm pretty sure Troy had nothing to do with it, besides the fact that she was a pretty girl, and he's just a adolescent of the male variety) erased all the clique lines that existed at East High, replacing them with air, causing ruckus, and what was to become known as the "singing Era" or later "the First singing Era" of East High. It only lasted a few weeks, but it was enough to be an era._

_As time went by, the jocks swore off my existence as well, choosing only to acknowledge Sharpay for reasons similar to those in reference to Gabriella. The only one who continued even knowing that I existed was Chuckie, who would send me sympathetic shrugs and glances occasionally._

_In retrospect, I should have seen what they were about, of course, but being a young adolescent of the male variety myself, I was young and stupid, and, well, hindsight's 20-20, anyways. It never seemed odd to me that people who I had been "friends" with since kindergarten could just stop talking to me. It just seemed like a normal thing to do. It might have been my fault, I guess. I don't really remember if they tried to talk to me, I don't remember ignoring them so thoroughly as to blow off their attempts at friendship. I don't think there were any, except for one, from Zeke, which was odd at the time, but as time will tell, everything happens for a reason._

_If this tells you anything about Troy and Chad, it should tell you that they are willing to do just about anything to save their reputations. Or, actually that's Chad talking, and Troy just following him around like a puppy. Until, of course, that one special person comes along that makes you stop caring what other people think. I remember thinking that Gabriella was this "one special person" for Troy, as Troy's main reason for getting back together with Sharpay was that his social status would take a big hit. Typical jocks, I had thought to myself, never thinking about anyone but themselves. But they were capable of thinking about things other than themselves. Troy was proving this as I thought to myself._

"Troy," I said, suddenly, snapping out of my reverie.

"Yeah?" he responded, probably without even thinking.

"Why…why…that whole thing with Gabriella…was that…fake?" I managed to stutter, dreading the answer. This is not what I had meant to say at all, but it seemed like it was more important than the other thing I had wanted to say.

"Uh…" Troy said, evidently at a loss for what to say. "Um, I guess you could – no, of course not."

"Was that a yes or a no?" I asked, quizzically. It had sounded like both to me.

"It was a no," Troy said. "That was real."

"And…that works out…how?" I asked.

"Um…so I _might_ have lied before," he said.

"Lied how?" I said, becoming more suspicious by the second.

"I _might_ not be gay," he said.

* * *

"You _might_ not be gay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, looking away from me and scratching his head.

"And…I'm a big joke to you…that's it, isn't it?" I asked.

"No!" he said, quickly. "You're not a joke. I…I…"

"Then what do you mean exactly?" I asked.

"Everything I've said in the last…however long it's been," he said, "I meant every word of that."

"Except for the part where you said you were gay," I clarified.

"Right," he confirmed.

"It might help you to explain what exactly this is," I said, gesturing between the two of us. "And yourself, while you're at it."

"Okay," Troy said, wanting to clear up any confusion right away, lest it stick there and become a monkey wrench in the inner workings of our relationship. "You know, out of curiosity, if it was a big joke, why would I bother trying to pull Sharpay and Kelsi in on it?"

"Will you just…" I began, but words turned into a frustrated noise of anger.

"Okay, okay," he said. "I meant everything I said about you, and Chuckie, and the bets, and the eighth grade, and Gabriella, and Sharpay, and everything else. Except for I'm not exactly what you'd call 'gay'."

"Huh?" was the only response I could muster.

"Not quite fruity. The margarine of gay, the diet coke of gay, just one calorie, not quite gay enough," he said.

"You still like girls," I deduced through his Austin Powers quote, which the all-knowing power behind the plot of my life (and therefore Troy's dialogue) does not own, and does not claim, they belong to Mike Myers. Troy nodded. He looked so obviously embarrassed by this thought, it was kind of cute. "That's not a crime, you know."

"I know," he said. "But there are girls…and they're hott…and I shouldn't think they are. Because I think you're hott."

"Hotter than the girls?" I asked.

"Of course," he said.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "You're allowed to like girls. I'm not stopping you."

"Well, actually…" he said.

"I'm not actively going to try and stop you from liking girls," I said. Although this would have made for a longer and more interesting fight scene if I had, it's just not in my nature. So he likes girls? So what? Me too (no matter what Kelsi says to the contrary). "You can like girls all you want."

"You're giving me permission to like other people?" Troy asked.

"Sure," I said. "Just, you know…"

"Oh, don't worry," Troy said. "You'll always be the one I go home with."

"Always?" I asked.

"Sure," he said, shrugging. I probably looked halfway between skeptical and scared, because that's how I felt. "You really have _no idea_ how long you've been the only guy of my dreams, do you?" I shook my head. "A _while_."

"That's…reassuring," I said. "Still though, that whole 'girls' thing. Didn't you say girls were icky?"

"Um…no," Troy said.

"Last night," I said. "On the golf course. I was there, Troy."

"Actually, _you_ said girls were icky," he reminded me. "I just agreed with you." I looked back through the night before in my mind to find that he was, indeed, correct. "But all girls are icky compared to you."

"Um…thanks, I guess," I said. "Ditto for you."

"Thanks," he replied. We lapsed into silence.

_Okay, well, that went over well. Not. He's bi. He's bi. He's bi. He's bi. He's bi. If I keep affirming it to myself will that make it untrue? Do I want it not to be true? Would making it not true make him straight again? No, probably not. But…he likes me more than the girls. I'm the guy of his dreams. He always wants to come home with me. Troy Bolton. Wants to come home. With me. Whoa. Hold the phone. Troy Bolton wants to come home with me! Wow._

_There comes a time in the affairs of men, when they go through their questioning stage. Technically speaking, of course, I'm still in mine. But Troy would never be a joke to me. And I'm not a joke to him. That makes us equal. Should it make me uneasy that he could so very easily just go back to girls? No, it shouldn't, because I'm the one he wants. That, in itself, is a scary thought, though. Even so, it's probably just as uneasy to know that if, for some strange reach of the imagination, he does go back to girls, I could too. No matter what Kelsi says to the contrary. Speaking of Kelsi, what is up with her and Jason? And that whole thing in February. Did she make that up? I'm not actually sure if I mind, actually, but it _would_ be kind of funny if I had devirgnized two girls in four (three?) days. Okay, so it's not so much funny as it is kind of sad._

_Kelsi and Jason. Now there's a pairing that I could live with. Like Zeke and Sharpay. Kind of just meant to be. Not that every girl that I know should end up with someone on the basketball team. Okay, that's not true. Every girl should have a basketball player, because basketball players are hot. Like Troy. Who is in the process of being really sweet and kind of creepy at the same time. He wants me. He wants _me_. He _wants_ me. _He _wants_ me._ There are so many different ways to emphasize that sentence._

"Troy?" I asked, again, stopping in my thinking to look at him, and realizing he's been watching me think, which made me a little uneasy.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Nothing," I said, losing my train of thought. I just pulled his face in for another kiss, which he gladly took.

"Mmm," he said in response. "You know I don't – hardly ever – lie, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "Hardly ever."

"Honesty and communication are the pillars of a relationship," he said. He sounded like he was quoting one of those self-help books.

"You sound like a self-help relationship book," I told him.

"Okay, so I might be quoting a self-help relationship book, but it's still true," he said. "I think we should talk more, and we need to be perfectly honest with each other. And I'll go first."

"Um…okay?" I said. I really didn't understand what was going on.

"Let's see," he began, and I sighed inwardly. It always takes him, like, an hour and a half to get out a sentence. "Well, first I'd like to apologize for lying before. I wasn't sure how you were going to take the news at all, let alone, _that_. I'm glad you're okay with it, though, because if you weren't, I'm not sure what exactly I would do with myself." _Great, start with something sappy._ "I usually don't lie, or I try not to. It's only in extreme cases. Like before. Um, I really usually always mean what I say, except for sometimes in said extreme cases." _And be confusing while you're at it._ "I'm not going to lie, it would be _so_ much better if I – we – didn't have to hide our relationship with everyone, because, judging by the looks you were getting around the club yesterday, Kelsi and/or Gabriella outed you to the entire student body, and I just wish I had the kind of confidence that you have to go around with something like that. I don't think I could take the whispers. And you're really lucky the people around here are pretty open minded, although it's not really luck, because all the employees here are just the people that go to our school that I know, and if I didn't…you get the point. Anyways, I wish I had the kind of confidence you do, so that when we went back to school, we could be together. But I don't. And I'm sorry. I've failed you." I just had to laugh a little at that.

"Troy, you haven't failed me," I said. "You've been, like, the best person ever. But I get how you feel, and I understand why we have to hide. I'm not going to get mad at you because you won't come out."

"Um, thanks," he said. "I feel better now. Um, your turn." I sat, half speechless, half thinking, for about a minute, and then I thought of something to say.

"Troy, a week ago tonight, I went out on a date with my best friend, Kelsi. I never thought it would end up the way it did, but we kind of did it in my backyard," I said. "It didn't even really…it wasn't as weird as you'd think. The next day, we had a long talk in my room, and she proved to me that I liked you more than any girl, including herself, which was a very…what's the adjective I'm looking for? Noble? It doesn't really matter…thing for her to do, especially because she's been in love with me for…years. Three nights ago, I found out that the one guy I was crushing on liked me back, and was ecstatic. I think. I don't remember being ecstatic, but I got kinda drunk afterwards. Last night, you and I were laying outside on the golf course, and we shared our first kiss. I have to admit, I thought it was going to be awkward. I actually thought it might turn me back to girls, but it didn't, and I've come to realize something. Tonight, sitting here with you, seems like the most natural thing I've done in a long time, and even if people don't like who – or what – I am, I'm not going to hide it. I'm going public, and even if Kelsi helped start it, I'm not mad. Because I have the one person who can make it all better. That's you, Troy." Troy was smiling, and there might have been tears in his eyes, but I wasn't finished yet. "Oh, and…" I brought his face to mine for another kiss. "…I love you." Troy burst into tears.

"I love you, too!" he said through the tears. "I always kind of wanted to be the first one to say it, but…"

"It's okay," I said, hugging him. "I already knew you did. I just had to figure my feelings out for myself, and then proceed to tell a really long and kind of pointless story that, in retrospect, would have been a really good proposal starter." He smiled some more, through the happy tears on his face, and I felt even more at ease.

**A/N: Did I mention that I still don't own HSM or Legally Blonde or anything else? I didn't? Oh, well, now I did. Okay, so I really finished this chapter about half an hour after I posted the last chapter and I wanted to post it then, but the last time I did that it was with chapters 8 and 9, and now for some reason chapter 8 has less hits than chapter 9 and 10. (Go figure.) So, I'm sticking to my new schedule of updating that I've concocted, that I won't tell you about, lest you take advantage of it to make me update every five minutes.**

**Anyways, this is my new favorite chapter (my old one was the golf course one). I'm not even going to lie: this was the very last of what I had written last night when I made this up, but then I wrote about seven more pages, so, no worries, but, basically, I'm up for suggestions! I see an end to this story in sight (and pretty soon), especially if no one suggests any ways for me to make it even longer than it is. (Which, PS, is 102 pages in 12 font, with .5" margins on every side. That's long. Or, 44,000ish words. So far.) But, it's not over yet!**

**Anyhoo, I feel that you need to review, because I've decided that if I get (a certain number that I'm not telling) of reviews, I'll update sooner than the planned (certain number of days that I'm not telling). If you ask **_**really, really**_** nicely, maybe I'll tell you what the sched is next time.**

**In the meantime, thanks for reading, and please review! Oh, and did I mention I posted a new story? Yeah, I did. ****Forever and Ever.**** It's Ryella, Troypay, Chaylor, Jelsi, (and Troyella) so if you like that, give it a read (and a review!) please!!**

**Samantha.**

**PS, next time, there's more of the rest of the gang. Is Troy going to tell them? Who knows.**


	16. Poolside Telepathy

**A/N: Funny story behind this update: No, I wasn't just being that way so that you guys would have to _wait_ for the next update. I couldn't think of a good end for it. More on this at the bottom, but I also had to do a project and a paper, that ended up taking 6 hours in total (a whole hour of which was trying to make a "bop to the top" icon. It was hard, because I'm not that technologically inclined, but it looked amazing.) Anyways, just read and review!**

The next morning (and _no_ Troy didn't spend the night, geez, get'cha head out of the gutter) I got up and did my usual morning things, like showering, and getting dressed, and yoga class, and then I met up with Sharpay by the pool, as usual.

"Still can't believe it," Sharpay said, when I sat down.

"I know that," I said. "Me neither."

"I still can't _believe_ that he'd fall for you and not me," she continued. "What exactly have you got that I don't?"

"Um, you want to go somewhere else and compare?" I asked. She threw a look in my direction, and I shrugged innocently. "Just asking."

"You haven't…done…" Sharpay half-asked.

"That is none of your business, Shar," I said. "That is between me and him."

"So that's a yes?" she asked.

"Nah, it's a no," I said.

"Well, I do have to say that's impressive," she said. "You know, given your previous track record."

"Neither of those were my fault!" I said. "But, I don't know, doing it…with a guy…that's a little weird."

"Mm," Sharpay said.

"And what about your track record?" I asked. "You've dated three out of four basketball players. Gonna hook up with Jason anytime soon?"

"No, he's with Kelsi," Sharpay replied, "again."

"Again?" I asked.

"Yeah, you knew they were together before," she said.

"Yeah, I knew they were together in, like, February," I said. "But that hardly constitutes an 'again'."

"But they were together after the talent show, too," Sharpay told me, like it was common knowledge. "And then they weren't again. And now they are again."

"She's moved on pretty fast, then," I said.

"Moved on?" Sharpay asked.

"From me," I replied.

"Oh, right," she said. "Because you were such a nice boyfriend to her."

"What?! I was a _great_ boyfriend!" I said. We might have been attracting the attention of the other members, but I didn't care.

"Sure," Sharpay said. "You went out for, like, less than a week, and you started dating somebody else while you were dating her!"

"We weren't really going out!" I protested.

"Well, that's your problem," Sharpay said.

"No it isn't," I said. "I can't help it if I…like guys…and stuff."

"Oh, sure," she said. "I'm sure you just can't help yourself. Especially around Troy. And Chad."

"Will you drop the Chad thing already? It's getting old," I said.

"Fine," she said. "But, I'm just telling you that I still can't believe it."

"Fine, whatever," I said, getting up off my chair and wandering into the lobby, where I collapsed into a couch.

"What's up?" Kelsi asked, plopping down beside me.

"Just Sharpay, as usual," I said. "She's off in her own little alternate universe."

"Ah," Kelsi said. "She does that quite frequently."

"I know," I said. "I hate it. So…what's up with you and Jason?"

"Um…nothing," Kelsi said.

"You're lying," I told her.

"Okay, fine, we're back together again," she said. "But…never mind."

"What?" I said, genuinely interested.

"Getting over you is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," she said. _Aww._

"Aw, Kelsi, I'm sorry that I like guys, too," I said. "I'll be here for you, don't worry."

"That's not helping," she said.

"I know," I said, grinning. "I'm horrible, aren't I?"

"Just a little bit," she said, laughing. "So…what's up with you and _Troy_?"

"Shh," I said. "Not so loud. And we're fine. Is he here today?"

"Yeah, I think I saw him earlier," Kelsi said. "He does have a job, you know."

"I know," I said. "I wish his job was to hang out with me all the time."

"I sure he wished that was his job too," Kelsi said.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Troy was walking down the hall from the golf course, when I caught up with him.

"Hey, sexy," he said to me, after checking to make sure no one was around.

"Not too bad yourself, you know," I said to him. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Oh, I'm gonna hang with the guys tonight," he said. "We're throwing a very (cough) manly pool party after work."

"Oh," I said.

"And you're invited," he continued.

"Really?" I asked.

"Of course. Hence the words 'the guys'. You are a 'guy', yes?" he asked. I nodded. "Then why wouldn't you be invited?"

"I don't know," I said, shrugging. "I'm not usually invited."

"You're not usually my boyfriend," he reminded me.

"Are you going to feel weird being the only one with a date?" I asked. "Especially when I'm not really your boyfriend around 'the guys'?"

"Nope," Troy said. He left it at that, but I had the feeling he had something up his sleeve.

* * *

Still later that afternoon, found me with "the guys" out by the pool. A (cough) manly pool party evidently consists of swimming, splash contests, and barbeque, courtesy of Zeke, of course. "The guys", as it turns out, were Troy, Chad, Zeke, Jason, Chuckie, and myself. Just us. The typical gang, minus the girls, of course. After about an hour of swimming, we were all sitting on the pool deck, just looking (like men do) up at the sky. I really wanted nothing more than to climb into Troy's lap, and he knew it, and I think Chad and Chuckie knew it too. Finally, Troy looked over at me and mouthed the word "Nike". I gave him a look and mouthed "What?" He mouthed back "Just do it." I raised my eyebrows at him in skepticism. He nodded. I shrugged and got off my chaise, making my way over to Troy's and plopping into his lap. Jason and Zeke sent him "wtf" looks. Chad sent him a "what the hell are you doing are you aware you're doing what you're actually doing you stupid idiot" look.

"Troy, just so you know, there's an Evans in your lap," Jason said after about a minute.

"I know," Troy said. Jason and Zeke looked around, and realized they were the only ones who found this odd.

"Um, so…you're not going to do anything about it?" Jason asked.

"Why would I?" Troy asked.

"Um, because there's a dude, and he's sitting in your lap," Jason said.

"I think what Troy is trying to tell us," Zeke said, "is that he's with Ryan."

"He what?" Jason asked.

"Is it true?" Zeke asked, looking between me and Troy. Troy nodded. Chad was grinning at the look on Jason's face as he attempted to get his mind around the situation.

"Same face I had, man," Chad said to Jason. "It's incredible, right?" Jason nodded, still not able to form any coherent words.

"Well, that's…great!" Zeke said. Everyone (including Jason) turned to stare at him. "Well, if Troy's with Ryan, then Sharpay can't be after him." There was a pause. "Plus they look happy."

"Um, yeah," Jason said. "Is it okay if I don't believe you?"

"Sure," Troy said. "Chad didn't either at first. Sharpay just laughed. Kelsi was right, of course, as always, and she guessed it right from the get-go, I think."

"Taylor took it pretty calmly," Chuckie said. "She actually said she wasn't altogether surprised."

"And she seemed kind of put out yesterday at the mall to find out that the only thing they'd been up to was tickle fights," Chad said.

"Tickle fights?" Zeke asked, laughing. "What were you guys _doing_?"

"Tickle fighting," Troy said.

"Duh," I added.

"Did I ever mention I was proud of you, Troy?" Chuckie asked. Troy shook his head no. "Well, I am. I honestly didn't think you had it in you."

"To what?" Troy asked. "Ask Ryan out? Or tell Zeke and Jason?"

"Both, actually," Chuckie said. "I never thought you were going to tell anyone."

"I told you I was," he said.

"Whoa," Zeke said. "He knew about this first?"

"I know, right?" Chad said. "He didn't even tell _me_."

"I feel left out," Jason said. "We are your best friends, you know that?" Troy nodded. "So, you don't have to keep secrets from us. We're your teammates, and we'll support you no matter who you decide you want to date."

"Unless it's Sharpay," Zeke added. "Then I'd have to be angry."

"Ditto Taylor," Chad added.

"And Kelsi," Jason said.

"And I feel ridiculously single right now," Chuckie said.

"That's okay, Chuck," Troy said. "I'm sure the right guy for you is right around the corner." Chuckie stood up and looked around eagerly, but upon seeing no guys around, scowled at Troy.

"Yeah, right," he replied. "Easy for you to say, you've got yours."

"And why wouldn't I?" Troy said, lapsing into his conceited mode. "I am gorgeous. You don't think I could attract Ryan Evans, of all people?"

"In the opinion of he, himself," I said, "honey, you made me gay." Troy leaned in for a kiss, as the moment called for one, but I added, "I'm sure they don't want to see that."

"Oh, right," Troy said, pulling back.

"Yeah, that's…whatever," Jason said. "And none of that."

"Fine," Troy said. "No public displays of affection from us, and you guys won't tell, got it?"

"Deal," Jason agreed. Zeke nodded.

"And what team?" Chad said. Everyone groaned. "Fine. Just trying to bring a little spirit to the group. I won't bother next time."

"Well, the only thing left to do is…" Troy began. He paused a moment and took a deep breath for dramatic effect. "…tell Gabriella."

"I would advise against that," Jason said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because…don't you remember what happened last week?" Jason said. "I thought I was the dumb one."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean she should be kept out of the loop," I said. "But I do think Troy should tell her, and not anyone else." Troy looked horrified at this thought. "But I'll be there. And anyone else you want to back you up." Troy looked at his friends, sizing them up.

"Kelsi," he finally said. Every single one of the boys staring at Troy as he made this decision, including myself, couldn't believe their ears. "And Taylor. They're her best friends. They can straighten her out."

"Before she tries to straighten you out," Zeke added.

"Ha," Troy said. "Seriously, guys, how are you taking this?"

"Better, I guess," Jason said. "Wow, though. I go to bed at night, and then wake up in the morning and everything is at peace in the world, the sun is shining, I have a good paying job, and then I come to guys night and the bomb hits…and yet, somehow, the sun is still shining, and I still have a good paying job, and a girlfriend, and there's a lesson to be learned here."

"And that is?" I asked, a little apprehensive.

"Republicans are liars," Jason said.

"Well spotted," Chuckie told him.

"No, really," Jason said. "I mean, think about it. They tell you that if gays can exist and be together, it threatens your ability to have your heterosexual relationship."

"You know the word 'heterosexual'?" I asked, although everyone ignored me.

"I know what you mean," Chad said. "Having them around doesn't have anything to do with me and Taylor. Except for when they decide it's funny to ask me _why_ exactly I don't want to go out with either Troy or Ryan."

"And why is that again?" Troy asked, pretending to think.

"Because I…" Chad began, but his words were turned into a grunt of anger.

"It is fun, teasing Chad," I said.

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "Anyways, back to the problem at hand. Gabriella. Weren't you supposed to go on a date with her tonight?"

"No, she had to cancel," I said. "We're going tomorrow night."

"What are you going to do?" Troy asked me.

"Um, go and see a movie, and then…I don't know," I said. "But it won't involve…I don't want to…no, Troy, stop thinking it."

"What?" he asked, trying to play innocent.

"Just stop," I said.

"What is he thinking?" Zeke asked Chad.

"Do you really want to know?" Chad replied.

"I don't really think so," Zeke said. Chuckie just laughed.

"Who wants to go swimming again?" he asked.

"We could play some kind of sport," Troy said, immediately agreeing.

"Like inner-tube water polo," Chad said. "What is inner-tube water polo, anyways?"

"No idea," Jason said. "Let's play water volleyball."

"Okay, teams are me, Ryan and Chuckie vs. you three," Troy said.

"Oh, nice touch, Bolton," Chad said. "The gays versus the…what do we call ourselves?"

"I don't know," Jason said. "The…somethings."

"Okay," Chad said. "The gays vs. the somethings. Let's get it on!" There was a pause. "Or something a lot less sexual."

As it turns out the "gays" were capable of kicking the "somethings" asses at water volleyball, even though it was their idea, a fact which would cause much gloating in the little while to follow.

"I think you were cheating," Zeke said, after about five minutes in which the three of them refused to speak to the three of us. "I think the three of you are somehow telepathic."

"We're not telepathic," I said. "Troy is, but me and Chuckie aren't."

"Yeah, well, it's still cheating," Chad said.

"I'm not telepathic!" Troy said. "You guys are just…telepathetic."

"That's the best you can come up with?" Jason asked. "Telepathetic? Come on, Troy."

"I am ashamed of your existence right now," Chuckie said. "That is the lamest joke ever."

"Don't diss the Troy," I said, faking over-protection. "Or you'll have to answer to me!"

"Oh, I'm scared now," Chad said. "He'll wave his fashion sense in our faces."

"Or brandish a stylish hat," Zeke added.

"Or he could hit you with a baseball bat," Jason said. Everyone looked at him and groaned. "What?"

"I'm _so_ scared of little Evans," Chad said, walking around the other side of me.

"Yep," Zeke said, evidently out of sarcastic things to say. I ignored them both, but three seconds later they had picked me up and thrown me back into the pool.

"That was _not_ fair!" I spluttered, trying to catch my breath from the center of the pool. Chad and Zeke laughed.

"Sorry, man, couldn't resist," Chad said.

"You'll pay for that, Danforth!" I said, even though I didn't do anything but tread water in the middle of the pool.

"How?" Chad asked. "Are you going to use your telepathy to call Troy to–" But Troy was too quick for him, and Chad was soon spluttering in the pool as well.

"Something like that?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," he replied. "But now your ass is mine!"

"Oh no," Troy interjected from the deck. "I believe that's mine."

"No, actually, it's mine," I said. "It's attached." Jason took that particular moment to cannonball into the pool, making a huge splash, which caused a mini-splash fight between the three of us in the pool. Zeke, Troy, and Chuckie joined in soon after, and we had a full scale splash war. If you've ever had a splash war, you would know that it's difficult to tell who wins. It's easy to tell who loses, of course. That's the first person to leave. Unfortunately, that person turned out to be me.

Sharpay yelled from inside the club, and I had to make an untimely exit from the war, without even signing a peace treaty, or any form of formal surrender. I made my way into the club to find out what in the world she could possibly need from me.

**A/N: Okay, so I just, **_**just**_** finished this about three seconds ago, because I've been putting off updating all week, because I had three different good endings for the chapter, but none of them seemed right, so I just kept writing, and finally got to a good stopping place (with a little bit of a cliffhanger). I don't own HSM, as usual, or anything else (like Nike), also as usual. Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review! It takes, like, 30 seconds, and it makes me really happy. Next update scheduled for immediately after I finish writing it.**

**Suggestions are always welcome (and encouraged, please!).**

**Samantha.**


	17. Parents, Gabriella, and drinking games

**A/N: Yay! I wrote another chapter, and you didn't even have to wait! Yay! –Throws confetti that she's been saving for, like, seven years in the air– Probably shouldn't have done that. Now there's confetti everywhere. Oh well. Read this while I pick it up, and I'll be back at the end.**

When I arrived inside, Sharpay was looking at me with a look of…pity? Maybe. I didn't take too much notice to it. She pointed past her into a living room with a face that quite clearly said "Go. Now." I went halfway towards the door and she didn't move.

"You're not coming with me?" I asked. I could tell through the twin connection we had that what lay ahead in the living room was not good. She shook her head. I sighed in dismay, and went through the door into the living room. Alone.

My parents were sitting on a couch (admiring each other, I think). They looked up when I entered, and motioned for me to sit down, which I did. "Son, we need to talk," my father said. I got a little scared.

"Ducky, don't be afraid," my mother added, probably in answer to the look on my face.

"Um, okay?" I said, trying my best not to look scared or confused, both of which I actually was.

"Son, it's the word around the club that…well, they say…" my father began.

"Mom, Dad, I'm gay," I said, cutting my dad off. It's hard to describe their reactions. My father basically just exhaled. My mother seemed…happy? Maybe. She got off her couch, and hugged me. "Um, I take it you're okay with that?"

"Ducky, there's nothing you could do that would make us unlove you," my mother said, trying to work in a word from pop culture as she did so, and failing miserably. My dad nodded to support her statement, but didn't seem to be able to form any words. He was taking the "Chad" approach to the situation, like Jason had. If I had to compare Mother's reaction to anyone else's so far…it most resembled Sharpay's, I guess.

"Um, thanks?" I said. "I wasn't really worried you wouldn't…."

"Oh," my dad finally said. "Yeah."

"Okay," I said. "Um, and I have a boyfriend too, but he's not really…out yet."

"Oh, right," my mom said. "Chad."

"It's not Chad!" I said. "People need to stop thinking that!"

"Oh, then who is it?" Mother asked.

"I can't say," I said. She gave me a look. "Really."

"Just tell them, Ryan," came Sharpay's muffled voice through the door. I sighed.

"Fine, but if he asks I did _not_ tell you," I said. "It's Troy." My mother just nodded understandingly.

"There always was something odd about him," she said. "Usually Kitten can get anything she wants."

"Thanks, mom," Sharpay said, from the other side of the door.

"Just come in, already, Shar. We all know you're just eavesdropping," I called to her. There was no response. "Whatever." My father seemed to be taking another "Chad" style approach to the Troy news.

"Troy?" he finally managed. "As in Troy _Bolton_?"

"Yeah, Dad," I said. "What other Troys do we know? We live in one of those perfect worlds where no two people have the same first name."

"Yes, Ducky, it's fabulous," my mother said. _Ha, another "fabulous" joke. Funny. Not._ "Our little boy in his first relationship."

"Actually…" I began, then thought better of telling them about Gabriella and Kelsi, "yeah. It's wonderful."

"You sound sad, darling," my mother said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, quickly.

"He's thinking about–" Sharpay began from the other side of the door.

"Shut up!" I said, and she did. "It's nothing."

"If you say so, dear," my mother said. She sat back down on the couch next to my dad, who seemed to feel the need to say something supportive.

"We love you no matter what," he said.

"Thanks," I replied. "I love you too."

* * *

As if coming out to my parents weren't enough, the next day, I was imposed with the task of finding a time when Kelsi, Troy, Gabriella, and Taylor could all get together and chat about Troy's sexuality with me. It was a lovely, lovely task. We finally found a time, after Gabriella's shift at the pool ended in the afternoon. Taylor accosted her, and brought her into one of the living rooms, while Kelsi notified Troy and me, and brought us there as well. Gabriella frowned at us when we arrived. She was obviously confused about what was going on. I wouldn't have thought she would be. After all, she's supposed to be some kind of Einsteinette.

"Guys, what is going on?" Gabriella asked, when the five of us were all in the living room. She looked utterly bewildered.

"Jeez, we just want to talk to you," Taylor said. She, Gabriella, and Kelsi were sitting on one couch, and Troy and I were sitting on another.

"Well, you could have asked," Gabriella retorted, indignantly.

"Okay, we'll do that next time," Kelsi said. "But right now there are more pressing matters, and it's only a matter of time before Fulton realizes Taylor's missing."

"Well, then talk," Gabriella said. "You're the ones who dragged me in here."

"That's true," Troy said. There was a pause while everyone in the room (including a pet rabbit of Sharpay's, who was passing through) looked at Troy. "Oh, you want me to get right to it." Gabriella nodded, now understanding that Troy was in charge of this annoyance. She didn't look as angry as she had initially, when she thought I was in charge of it. There was a long pause.

"Will you just do it already?" I asked, impatiently. I swear he takes, like, a week to get out a sentence.

"Oh, right," Troy said, jumping back into reality. "Gabi, I dumped you because I'm in love with Ryan."

"That's a really blunt way of putting it," I critiqued. Gabriella seemed to be taking the "Taylor" approach to this news. Taylor, realizing this, snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"Gabriella!" Taylor said. Gabriella came out of her sort of trance, and looked at Taylor, then at Kelsi, then at Troy, and then at me.

"I'm sorry," Gabriella said, almost _too_ innocently and sweetly. "Could you repeat that? I think I just heard you say that you're in love with Ryan."

"That is, in fact, what he said," Kelsi said. Gabriella dropped the sweetly innocent smile, and frowned for a moment, as if thinking, then she looked at me again and scowled.

"This is all _your_ fault," she said to me.

"What?!" I squeaked. "How is this my fault?"

"I don't know! But it has to be! You stole my boyfriend!" she screamed.

"Gabi, not so loud," Troy said, getting up and squeezing in next to her. Kelsi evacuated her seat to make more room, and sat next to me. Gabriella started randomly crying into Troy's shoulder. "Sh, Sh, it'll be okay."

"No, it won't! How do you know?" she asked.

"Because I know," Troy replied. "Trust me." Gabriella stopped crying to look at him.

"How?" she asked. (**A/N: If this was a musical she probably would have broken into a song here. Something along the lines of that song from **_**Enchanted**_** that they sing in the park, the name of which is escaping me. And Chad would have made a random cameo appearance declaring that he "doesn't dance".**)

"I just do," Troy said.

"Well, are you sure?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm positive," Troy said. Kelsi and I looked at each, and quickly had to look away to keep from wither bursting into laughter or song. (Positive, from Legally Blonde: the Musical, if you were wondering.)

"And you're _sure_ you're in love with Ryan?" Gabriella asked him. This statement brought my attention back to Troy.

"Of course I am," he said. "He's the best boyfriend in the whole world. Why wouldn't I be?" Gabriella didn't respond verbally. As you might have guessed, she took this opportunity to kiss the crap out of him (figurative crap, of course. There was no real crap coming out of Troy). When she finally let him go, she stared at him for a second, and he stared back at her.

"Are you still sure?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah," Troy said. Gabriella looked like she might burst into tears again. "Don't take it the wrong way, Gabi. I…well, I loved you. And I care about you. And I'm getting really self-conscious all of a sudden with all these people around, but I'm _in_ love with Ryan."

"So, you're trying to tell me that my two last 'boyfriends," she began, using air quotes around the word "boyfriends", "are not only gay, but gay with each other?" Troy thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yes, that is what I've been trying to get at," he finally replied. Gabriella thought for a moment.

"Okay, then," she finally said. "I can be okay with that."

"Really?" Kelsi asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella said. "I'm sure I've caused enough harm without trying to get in the way of their relationship."

"I think she really means that," I said. "That means a lot to us, Gabs. Thanks." It seemed to be taking all of her effort to not start crying again, but she detached herself from Troy, in a final attempt to prove that she could, indeed, live without him.

"You're welcome," she said.

* * *

Gabriella was true to her word. I didn't hear a word about me and Troy around the club from anyone that shouldn't know that afternoon, or the next day, or the day after that. On Saturday, I was a little apprehensive about throwing the typical party, given what had happened at the last two, but I went ahead with it anyways.

Troy spent the day teaching golf, which was sad, because it was our one week anniversary. Call me insane, but I was counting the minutes we'd been together, because each one of them was better than all the minutes I had lived without him in my life for so long. If that makes any sense.

I spent Saturday out at the pool, as I spent almost all my days, with Sharpay. Gabriella stopped by to say hi after her shift was done, and she was…dare I say…nice? She was, though. She was nice.

When evening finally came, I gave her and Kelsi a lift to the party, and they helped me tell the staff what special preparations, if any, to make, which there weren't any, so we just sat around doing nothing. We did tell the staff to limit alcohol consumption a little, and the usual rules about designated drivers, blah, blah, blah. If I didn't mention it before, we swore Gabriella into secrecy, although it was a little (okay, a lot) more unconditional than everyone else's. It wasn't that we didn't trust her, it's that…no, wait, that was it. We didn't really trust her. As we sat chatting about nothing, everything the two girls whose company I was enjoying had done left my head. They were just friends. Really good friends. Really good and supportive friends. I think. It could have been a façade. Maybe the two of them were really secretly planning a way to get me and Troy back for themselves. It seemed unlikely, but feasible. But then Kelsi said something that made me throw this idea out the window.

"I have the perfect idea," she said. I know what you're thinking. _How could that possibly…what?_ But it did. Because I had the same idea first. And we all know that I don't want Troy to go. I can't tell you what the idea is, or what it's about, just that it's an amazing idea, and I had it first. Anyways, it made me really happy to know that Kelsi, at least, wasn't planning Operation Tryan Breakup.

Eventually, the rest of the guests to the party arrived, or at least they would have been called guests if it was any other type of party. They were more like attendees at ours. We never really invited anyone, everyone just knew that there was an abundance of alcohol and music at the Evans' on Saturday nights. And there was. I don't remember how the first one started, but they just kept continuing.

When Troy showed up with Chad and the guys, I started in with the beers. After we all had a few, Chad decided it would be a good idea to do shots in the dining room, and I agreed, which was really, _really_ stupid. Especially considering I'd never done shots before in my life. And during all of this, there is really, _really_ loud music playing.

So, as it turned out, I just watched them do shots. I'm not so good at handling my hard liquor. I would like to try an Appletini someday, though. After I deemed them done with shots (and I had another beer or two), I dragged them out of the dining room because, after all, it's probably not good for the five best basketball players on the team to have dead livers. Especially when we're not really old enough to drink. I was actually surprised that the police never came to investigate, but, then again, this is the _Evans' Mansion_. Police know better than to screw with the Evans family. Really.

The basketball players were reunited with their girlfriends, who were half drunk. And by that, I mean Sharpay and Kelsi had been drinking, and Taylor and Gabriella (who technically didn't belong to any of the basketball players, but she was there) hadn't. Sharpay thought it would be funny to go down the hall and play spin the bottle, or something equally embarrassing. I protested, saying that we were too old, but she said, "No one's too old to play Spin the Bottle!" She had a good point, but it didn't seem like a good idea. At least, it didn't until I finished the beer I was holding. Then it seemed like a better idea.

Down the hall, in a room that was evidently decked out in a fashion to properly play Spin the Bottle (go figure, right?), Sharpay organized the…ten?...of us into a circle, and attempted to explain the rules, which didn't come out so well, because she was rather intoxicated. I took over when she fell over (landing conveniently in Zeke's lap). I randomly spun the bottle to see who would go first. It landed on Chad, who laughed and spun the bottle.

It landed on Taylor, and they kissed. Then, Taylor spun the bottle, and, unbelievably, it landed on Chad, and they kissed again. Chad spun it again, and this time it landed on Sharpay, who unhooked herself from Zeke, took an actual seat, and insisted that Chad respin. Of course, when he respun, it landed on Sharpay again, and she just rolled her eyes and kissed him already (really quickly, so as not to make Zeke and Taylor mad). Sharpay then spun the bottle herself, and it pointed to Troy, who laughed and kissed Sharpay.

It was Troy's turn to spin the bottle, and (of course!) somehow it managed to land on me, at which point everyone in the room stared at one of us, not realizing that everyone else in the room knew what they knew. I rolled my eyes, and pulled Troy into a kiss, and (of course!) everyone in the room catcalled, even if it was somewhat drunkenly. I think Taylor might have remarked, "Aww."

I spun the bottle next, because it was my turn, and it landed on Sharpay. I gave a laugh, and respun. "You're not gonna kiss her?" Chad remarked.

"Dude, that's my sister," I said, as the bottle landed on Kelsi, who frowned at it, before realizing that it had landed on her. Then we looked at each other, and…well, you get how the game is played. We kissed. Kelsi's turn landed on Zeke, who reluctantly stopped staring at Sharpay to quickly kiss Kelsi. Zeke spun it and it landed on Chad. Zeke and Chad looked at each other for almost a whole minute. This type of situation wasn't covered in the rules. They looked at each other, then at their girlfriends, then at me. I shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" I said.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Sharpay started chanting. Troy and Taylor joined in, and everyone in the room (besides Zeke and Chad themselves) followed suit, until the only two people in the room not chanting "Kiss!" were Chuckie and Jason (again besides Zeke and Chad), who looked around the room to realize this, shrugged, and joined in.

"Jason!" Chad exclaimed. Jason just shrugged and kept chanting along with the rest of us. Chad took a deep breath and went across the circle to Zeke, who also took a deep breath. They got within inches of each other, and Zeke suddenly pulled back.

"I give up. I'm not doing that!" he said. Everyone stopped chanting and pouted or made other signals of disappointment. "I'm not going to kiss Chad! That's ridiculous."

"Okay, dude, we get it," I said. "But you're out, you know." Zeke shrugged, and Sharpay rewarded him with a kiss. "Chad, it's your turn." Chad took his turn and spun the bottle, which landed on Troy.

"Dammit!" Chad exclaimed! "Why me?"

"Cuz we rigged it," I joked. "I'm kidding." Both Chad and Troy looked at each other.

"Okay, I'm out," Chad said. "How come you weren't out when it landed on Sharpay?"

"Because that's my sister," I repeated.

"Well, then, I should get a respin, because that's my brother," Chad protested.

"One, you already said you were out, and Two, that is not your brother," I said. "Troy, it's your turn." Troy spun it, and because someone out there thinks it's funny, it landed on Chuckie, who looked almost like a deer in the headlights when it landed on him. He and Troy actually did kiss though, while managing to make Gabriella very suspicious (remember she hasn't been drinking, or at least not nearly as much as the rest of us). To my surprise, it didn't make me uncomfortable at all. It still made me wonder about them, but not nearly as much as playing the game soberly would have done. Chuckie spun it, and it landed on Gabriella, who had a face similar to Chuckie's initial reaction. She was probably hoping she wouldn't have to kiss anyone (except for Troy, who I was sure she wouldn't mind kissing). Chuckie moved over to her, sighing. Troy whispered something in her ear, and she looked either relieved or disappointed as she kissed Chuckie.

Gabriella spun, and it landed on Jason, and they kissed. Jason spun it and it landed on Taylor, who also kissed. Taylor spun it, and it landed on Chad, who even though he was out, kissed his girlfriend. Then Taylor spun again, because Chad didn't count, and it landed on Troy, who she seemed to have no reservations about kissing. These girls and their gays, I guess. Troy spun the bottle, and it landed on Jason. Jason politely declined to kiss Troy, resulting in Troy chasing him around the room trying to kiss him, which he eventually did, even if it only was on the cheek. The game ended there, as everyone was laughing, and Jason was thoroughly disgruntled.

"Let's play Duck, Duck, Goose!" Sharpay suddenly suggested. Our intoxicated minds thought this a good idea, and we played several variations on Duck, Duck, Goose (like Hi, Hi, Bye or Chad, Chad, Troy) for what might have been an hour. It very well could have been ten minutes, and it very well could have been six hours. I don't know.

At the end of the game, Sharpay, who had been continually drinking Smirnoffs (that's Vodka), was passed out and Zeke had taken her upstairs (somehow). Chad was the next to go, and Taylor just left him there on the floor, which was probably easier than trying to move him somewhere. I had been (subconsciously, I think) regulating how much I drank so that a repeat of two weekends before didn't happen (remember way back at the beginning of the story? Yeah, I thought not). When at last I looked at my watch, I couldn't actually read it, and decided it was time to go to bed, I collapsed into blackness, not even realizing that someone had caught me before I hit the floor.

**A/N: Okay, so I picked up all the confetti. Can anyone tell that I've been eating candy all afternoon?**

**So, I checked with my people, and I actually **_**do**_** own High School Musical, Legally Blonde, and Enchanted. And, as it turns out, I invented the space shuttle and microwave popcorn the same day I scored 41 points on a league championship basketball game. Everyone know I'm being sarcastic? Good.**

**In reference to Enchanted: The random Chad cameo appearance in the hypothetical song is in reference to Patrick Dempsey's line "I don't dance" and then his later one "I said I didn't dance, I never said I couldn't". Enchanted was an amazing movie, although I personally think it was just a big Disney conspiracy to support Chyanism. Think about it… Oh, and the song was "That's How You Know".**

**Anyways, the rabbit cameo was just me being retarded, as usual. The "idea" that Kelsi and Ryan have will be discussed at length in later chapters, but I can't tell you what it is, because that would entail the end of the story, which I know none of us actually wants. I'm kind of letting the plot get away from me, but beware of big fast forwards in time in future chapters. Don't worry, though, I'll warn you again before they happen.**

**Onto other matters: I don't think I'm bribing you guys enough to review. So review! Please? Oh, and thanks for reading, as usual. Any suggestions for the next chapter? Review! The future of this story is (pretty much) up to you guys! (Not really, because I know how it ends. With the "idea". Bet you thought of that.) But still, I'll work in suggestions. Any thoughts on my random rambling? Review! Any thoughts is general? Just want me to know who you are? Review!! And kudos to the, like, eight different individuals who actually **_**have**_** reviewed this. I'm thinking I might list you at the end of the fic.**

**Anyways, I'm going to go and write the next chapter now…**

**Samantha.**


	18. Let's talk about an idea

**A/N: Did I mention that I really, really like this story? Did I mention that there's probably only like three more chapters left? Did I mention that if you review with suggestions I'll make it longer? Did I mention that…something else? Okay, then.**

Waking up the next morning with a hangover and less memory than you'd like to have is always a bad thing. Having no idea where you are, or who you're sharing a bed with is worse. The only thing that could make it worse, was if you were suddenly very sure that you'd done something inappropriate with your sister the night before. When this (completely false) thought ran through my mind, I sat straight up in bed, to look around and take in that this was my bedroom, even if I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there. The next thing I realized, is that I wasn't alone. That really shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did. The person sharing my bed…well, I'll give you a hint. He's really, really cute, brown hair, blue eyes, incredible smile, about five nine, oh, and did I mention he's my boyfriend? Right. Okay, anyways, Troy was still asleep in the bed next to me. Looking at him, I smiled, even if I couldn't remember how I'd gotten to bed or most of what I'd done (besides playing Chad, Chad, Troy and Spin the Bottle).

Troy stretched in bed next to me and rolled over, running into me in the process. He opened his eyes to see what was going on. He saw me and smiled. "Oh, good morning," he said.

"Good morning," I said, also smiling. He sat up and stretched properly "Hey, um, what did I do last night?"

"Well, when I found you, you were making out with Jason, but we stopped you guys before you went too far," Troy said. The look on my face _had_ to have been priceless, because Troy fell off the bed laughing.

"I what?!" I screamed.

"I'm just joking!" Troy said. "I think. No, I really am kidding." I was relieved.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah," Troy said. "I was with you all night. I think. Yeah, you passed out third, after Sharpay and Chad, and we took you upstairs to bed."

"We?" I asked.

"Me and Jason," Troy said. "You're not as light as you look."

"Yoga," I proclaimed.

"Sure," Troy said. "Anyways, then we went to sleep."

"And I didn't do anything with Sharpay?" I asked, remembering my random thought.

"No! That's gross," Troy said. "We did find you with Gabriella though." Another priceless face from me, and Troy collapsed onto the bed laughing. "Kidding again."

"You have got to stop doing that," I declared. "Breakfast anyone?" Troy agreed, and we went downstairs to the dining room, which was empty except for Chad. "Good morning Chad!"

"What did I _do_ last night?" Chad asked.

"Well, last I heard you were in a closet with Zeke, but–" Troy began, but I slapped his arm. "Okay, fine, that was a joke." Chad turned to me, and I shrugged. "Nah, nothing happened. You passed out after we played Chad, Chad, Troy and Taylor left you there. Where is she?" Chad shrugged.

"Probably with Gabriella," he remarked. "Maybe they went home." At that moment, Gabriella appeared, with Chuckie right behind her. "Good morning!" Chad said to them. Gabriella glared at him.

"Troy David Bolton! This stupid basketball boy of yours is being creepy!" Gabriella exclaimed. _Not good. Code Red. Code Red. Code Red. Code Red. Code Red. Code Red. Crap._

"No, I'm not!" Chuckie said.

"Okay, sit, explain, and please stop yelling," Troy said. "Hangover." Chuckie and Gabriella sat down opposite each other, and Troy and I sat down as well.

"Well, stupid over here was talking in his sleep!" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, he does that," Troy said. Gabriella raised her eyebrows at Troy, and he shrugged. "Sleepovers." Chad sniggered, and Troy shot him a look. "Really."

"I know," Chad said, still laughing a little.

"Please ignore everything Chad says," Troy said, turning back to Gabriella. "Please go on."

"Stupid–" Gabriella began.

"Please refer to the defendant as either 'Chuckie' or 'Mr. Brown'," Troy told her, and I had to stifle a laugh.

"Anyways," Gabriella continued, ignoring Troy, "he was talking in his sleep. Oh, and you'll never guess what about."

"I bet I can," Chad muttered. He mimed a really bad impression of – you know what? You don't need to know, it's not important.

"Shut up, Chad, or I'll get the bailiff to remove you from the courtroom," Troy said to Chad. "Carry on with the story, Miss Montez."

"You," Gabriella said.

"Excuse me, what?" Troy said.

"He was talking in his sleep about _you_!" Gabriella exclaimed. Chuckie went white, and Troy did too.

"Excuse me, please, the judge has to deliberate," Troy said. "Will the defendant please rise and come with me?" Troy and Chuckie quickly evacuated the dining room, leaving Chad, Gabriella, and I all glaring at each other. Actually, most of the glaring was from Gabriella towards Chad, who was still silently miming his…what he was miming.

"Chad, stop it!" I said. He stopped, and I helped myself to some fruit. "So what do you think they're talking about? And if anyone starts miming _anything_…" I let the threat hang.

"I'm going to not guess," Chad said. "I don't really want to know."

"Me neither," Gabriella said.

"Or me," I said. They both looked at me. "Well, I don't." They continues staring in a "how could you not want to know" type manner. "It's impolite to inquire as to the private affairs of others."

"What?" Chad and Gabriella said at the same time.

"That doesn't even make _sense_," Chad said. "What's really going on?"

"Okay, fine, it creeps me out!" I admitted. "It's weird, and I don't want to think about it."

"That makes more sense," Gabriella said. "You mean he…"

"Yep," I said.

"And they…" Gabriella began.

"Pretty much," I confirmed.

"Ew," Chad said. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Like…" I prompted.

"That reminds me, man," Chad said, suddenly, "I talked to Jason, and you were right, and I was wrong." There are no words to describe how relieved I was at that very moment.

"Right about what?" Gabriella asked, suspiciously. Chad looked at me, silently debating whether to tell her or not, but we were saved from having to decide, by the sounds of Troy and Chuckie returning.

"And this won't happen again?" Troy's voice said from the other side of the door. The two burst into the dining room, and Chuckie was shaking his head. "Okay then." Troy resumed his seat, and banged a fork against a plate. "Courtroom to order. The case has been settled. The defendant promises not to talk about me in his sleep anymore. At least not around other people," he added, winking. "I mean….never mind. Anyways, court adjourned!" He cleared his throat and banged the fork again.

"Anyways," Chad said, ignoring the whole courtroom thing, "so, now that everyone _knows_, what's going to happen?"

"Knows?" Gabriella asked.

"About Troy and Ryan," Chad clarified. Troy looked at me, and I grinned. Me and Kelsi were planning the perfect venue for that. It wouldn't be for a while, but I figured we'd live.

"I've got that under control, Chad, there's no need for you to worry," I said.

"You do?" Troy asked.

"Yeah," I said. I whispered in his ear about the "idea" and he listened intently.

"And you and Kelsi are sure you can do that?" he asked. I nodded vigorously.

"Sure we can do what?" Kelsi asked, entering the dining room with Jason.

"That thing we talked about last night," I said. Kelsi nodded.

"We've done harder things before," she said. "Or something else that I could say that sounds a lot less sexual." Jason laughed and they sat down at the table as well.

"Okay, then," Troy said. "It's a plan. But, uh, only if we're all in this together."

"And what team?" Chad offered, even though he had no idea what we were talking about.

"Wildcats!" Kelsi and Gabriella declared, then looked around at the rest of us, who hadn't said anything.

"What team?" Chad continued.

Sighing, the rest of us joined in. "Wildcats!"

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats," Chad declared.

"Get'cha head in the game!" we all shouted. Zeke came skidding in from the kitchen three seconds later.

"Did I miss it?" he asked.

"Yeah," Chad said.

"Darn," Zeke said, going back into the kitchen.

"What's he doing in there?" I asked.

"No idea," Chad said. "He was in there when I got up."

"Crème brûlée?" I asked. "I hear they're good."

"Where's Taylor?" Gabriella asked suddenly.

"Changing the subject, oh my gawd, you loser," Chuckie joked. Gabriella frowned at him. I gathered there was something going on (in the argumentative sense) between the two of them that no one was going to talk about.

"We kind of figured you would know," Troy said. "You were with her." Gabriella thought, but couldn't remember. "Maybe she got into the Vodka."

"That isn't funny, Troy," Chad said. "Where's my girlfriend?"

"I don't know," Troy said. "Last I heard she was in a closet with Zeke…"

"What?!" Chad exclaimed. The rest of the room had similar faces of shock.

"He's kidding," I said. "He said the same thing about Chad."

"Oh, right," Chad said. "But really, where is she?"

"With Sharpay?" I suggested.

"Why?" Chad asked me.

"I don't know. I just suggested it because they're the only ones not here," I said.

"Oh," Chad said, getting up and leaving all of a sudden.

"Okay, one down," I joked. Taylor entered the dining room from the lounge at that moment, making most of the dining room laugh.

"What?" she asked, yawning.

"Chad just went looking for you in Sharpay's room," Kelsi said.

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"Because Ryan suggested he should," Kelsi said. Taylor frowned at me, and then went running after her boyfriend, but it was too late. There was a scream from upstairs, followed by very loud yelling, the only discernable word of which was "Danforth".

"Oops," I said, not meaning it at all.

"Why did you do that?" Troy asked me, somewhat amused.

"Did you not see his mimes?" I asked rhetorically. Troy shrugged, and continued eating. Five minutes later, Chad came into the dining room with Taylor.

"That was not nice, Evans," he said. I shrugged.

"That was for the mimes," I explained.

"They were funny," Chad said. "That was not."

"Do we need to call this courtroom into session again?" Troy asked. Chad and I looked at each other, at Troy, then back at each other and shook our heads.

* * *

Sigh. Ryan here. I have been told that this story is progressing very slowly, and a lot of the stuff that is happening isn't exactly pertinent to the plot. I said, "So? It's my life, not yours. How do you know if it's pertinent to the plot?" Samantha told me to just get on with the story, or she's going to finish it herself. So, I'm going to get to the point a lot faster than I would have if I had it my own way. –Glares at Samantha– She says not to glare at her. Anyways, she's going back to listening to Britney Spears (don't diss Britney, Sharpay will kill you), and I'm going to write the rest of this chapter. She'll talk to you at the end of the chapter, at which point it will definitely _**not**_ be over.

* * *

Okay, so the rest of the summer (which was, like, a week) passed by pretty uneventfully. There wasn't even another party with alcohol, trading it instead for a staff (plus Ryan and Sharpay) pool party at the club. Blah, blah, blah, watch the movie if you want an appropriate approximation of what happened, but nix the singing. The Second singing Era was over. The Third was about to begin, but we didn't know that yet.

So, on the night of the 28th of August (that's a Tuesday), Sharpay and I were back to living at our house (if you could call it a house) coordinating our outfits for the first day of school. Yes, outfits, in the plural. Evidently we have to wear, like, four different outfits, and they all have to match, including socks and hats. And since Sharpay was going to be wearing neither socks, nor a hat, these were left for me to pick out. After about an hour of wondering if two colors of blue were close enough to each other to match, Troy randomly walked into my room.

"Hey," I said to him, turning my attention back to the problem at hand.

"You know that no one cares if your socks match your hat," Troy said.

"I care, Troy," I told him.

"Sure," he said. "But no one else does."

"Why are you here?" I asked, trying hard not to sound like he just interrupted me while I was doing the most important thing I'd done all summer.

"To say hi," he said. "That's not a crime, is it?"

"You know, in the future, calling would have sufficed," I said.

"So I'm not allowed to see my boyfriend whenever I want?" he asked.

"Not when he's busy," I said.

"No one cares if your hat and socks match!" he said, evidently getting very frustrated at the thought that I would care so much about nothing.

"I know!" I said. "Do these match?" I held up the blue socks and the blue hat to him.

"I don't know," he said. "Just because I'm gay, that doesn't mean I know color!"

"Sharpay!!" I called. She showed up in my room three seconds later. "Do these match?" I held them up for her to see.

"No one cares if your socks match your hat," she said. Troy stuck out his tongue.

"Fine," I said, finally dropping the matter. Sharpay left as quickly as she had come. "Why are you really here Troy?"

"No reason," he said.

"Seriously, what's going on?" I asked.

"Okay, fine," he said, finally caving to my crafty wit. (Ha.) ((Kelsi, stop leaving comments in my story.)) (Sorry.) "The thing is…school starts tomorrow."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I said. "Your point?" I hung up the shirt I'd been matching hats to in my closet.

"Us. We are the point," he said.

"Either you've come over here to explain exactly _why_ you're not ready to come out at school, which I already know, or you've come to break up with me," I deduced.

"What? No," he said. "I've come to reiterate why you should stay with me, even though I'm a stupid scaredy-cat who won't come out of the closet."

"So what?" I asked. "I'm not really out yet, either."

"Yeah, but people never really…I'm Troy Bolton!" he exclaimed.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," I repeated. "Your point?"

"People are going to notice," he said.

"Let them," I declared. "Let them notice all they want. But this is still between us, our seven closest friends, God, and Sharpay."

"You're not listing Sharpay as one of our closest friends?" Troy asked.

"Um, would you?" I asked.

"Okay, good point," he said. "So, you're not mad?"

"No," I said. "Why would I be?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I thought you would be."

"I'm not," I said. "I love you. Why would something like that make me mad?"

"I don't know," he admitted again. "I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Troy?" I asked suddenly, and he turned around on the threshold of my room. "What do you do about the locker rooms?" He laughed and walked back into my room.

"Well, you can't really do anything about them. They come with the gym," he explained.

"No, I meant, like, the showers and stuff," I said.

"Oh," Troy said. He thought for a moment. "I never really thought about it."

"Oh, I'm sure. Being surrounded by a whole bunch of naked guys, and you never thought about it," I said.

"Really," Troy said. "You know I'm not attracted to _all_ guys, Ry."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to feel special?" I asked.

"Do you?" he asked.

"Yeah," I decided.

"So, I'm gonna go now before the conversation gets weirder," Troy said.

"Okay. Bye Troy," I said.

"See ya!" came his voice from the hall. He was gone. Sharpay walked into my room twenty seconds later.

"How much did you hear?" I demanded of her.

"Oh…the whole thing," she said. "So I take it you and Troy _still_ haven't…you know."

"I think you know the answer to that," I said. She nodded. "Did you and Zeke?"

"No," she said.

"Well, then, who are you to be bothering me?" I asked.

"Just wondered what it was like," she said, nonchalantly.

"What makes you think I would…. Are you implying that I would be a bottom?" I asked her in disbelief.

"Come on, Ry, it's Troy Bolton," Sharpay said. "Don't tell me it's the other way around." She winked and left the room. I'm sure my face was red as a cherry pie, and approaching the one in temperature.

* * *

The next day at school, there weren't any funny looks, homophobic football dudes, or rude insults. It was just…the first day of school. We all (yes, all of us) had Ms. Darbus again for homeroom, just like every year. Yes, every year. She's like our Mr. Feeny.

"Good morning, class," she said, as she entered the classroom. "Please turn off your cell phones. This is the first day of our last year together. If you'd all please pay attention! We could get a move on with announcements." The two people in the back of the room who weren't paying attention, turned to listen to Ms. Darbus. "As some of you may know, I am retiring this year." There was a mixed reception for these words. "Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but I feel that I have left my imprint here, and it is time for me to go." More mixed reception. I think Chad was trying to stifle a cheer. "But, we have this one last year, and I intend to make it the best. I said no cell phones!" Everyone's head turned to see who had their cell phone out, but no one did. Ms. Darbus was evidently going insane as well. Jason's hand went up. "Yes, Jason?"

"So, how was your summer, Ms. Darbus?" he asked. Everyone groaned, but the bell rang at that precise moment, and everyone went on to first period. I lagged behind with Kelsi to talk about our "idea". Ms. Darbus was surprised to hear about the "idea" but decided that it was good, if we thought we could pull it off. I think the word "temerity" came up somewhere, although I don't remember where.

Kelsi and I emerged from Ms. Darbus's homeroom five minutes later, with triumphant looks, and slips that would get us into our next classes. After school, Kelsi, Gabriella, Troy, and I went to the mall to talk about the "idea".

"And so, I was thinking that it would be really awesome if we could get Sharpay, and Chad, and them in on it too," Kelsi said. "You know, instead of just the regular Drama department."

"I think that's a great idea," Gabriella said. "Do you suppose they can sing?"

"Are you questioning Sharpay's ability to sing?" Troy asked her.

"No, I'm wondering if your basketball guys can sing," she clarified herself.

"I'm sure they can sing," I said. "If not, I'll tell them that they can, and they'll immediately challenge me to some kind of sporting event to prove me wrong, thus beginning the Third singing Era at East High."

"That sounds like fun, actually," Troy admitted. "Can I get in on that?"

"Nah, I don't think it'd work for you," I said. "I mean, even if your showerhead is impressed with your singing voice, and those guys from the newspaper, and those people from the UofA, I don't know, man."

"Hey!" Troy exclaimed. "I sing great. Even Kelsi says so."

"Sure," Kelsi said, turning her attention back to me. "So, when are we going to cast it, when are we going to rehearse it, and when are we going to perform it?"

"Uh, whenever you want, whenever we can plan around basketball practices, and sometime this semester," I said. I'd been thinking about it a lot, and the time it made sense was at Christmastime. "Like October?"

"October?" Gabriella asked. I shrugged. "Isn't that a long time from now? I mean, it's still August."

"Aren't you supposed to be some kind of Einsteinette? Shouldn't you know if October is a long time from August?" I asked. "The club isn't doing a Fall Play this year, and we usually do that the very last week in October, meaning we'd have two months to make it perfect. With any luck, we can get the auditorium to practice in," I said. "So we don't have to use the gym."

"That sounds good," Kelsi said. "When are we going to ask them if they'll do it?"

"Whenever," I said. "Sometime before we cast it, and before we start rehearsals, and definitely before we perform it."

"Thanks, I wasn't sure which order we should do them in," Kelsi said, sarcastically. With that out of the way, it seemed like it was shaping up to be a pretty good semester.

**A/N: Okay so I've changed the "idea" back and forth between two particular ideas about sixty times. My mom thinks I should do it the first way, and I think the second way is better. Both are equally good, but I've decided on a third way, which is similar to the first way, but makes more sense than the second way. Don't worry, the next chapter will explain more on this. I'm currently doing a happy dance to Britney Spears and Kelly "Gimme More Shoes" (try Youtube).**

**So, anyways, I don't own HSM, or…Boy Meets World, or Britney Spears, or anything, as usual. Um, random appearance by Zeke…for my own personal amusement. Ryan keeps getting pissed that I'm cutting him off in random places, and he's going to get the rest of his story out, before I turn to Troy for both the prequel and the sequel (which I'm debating). The sequel, I mean. The prequel is definitely on.**

**Uh, so thanks for reading, and please review, as usual!! (If you haven't reviewed before, there's no time like the present or dare I say…no day but today?) ((I also don't own RENT.))**

**Samantha.**

**Oh, and PS. The summaries and stuff for the prequel and (possible) sequel are on my profile. The prequel is tentatively called "Middle School Musical" and the sequel is tentatively called "17 going on…28?". So, you know, whatever. I think I'll do the prequel first, just because the idea came to me first. Anyways, review with opinions on that as well, if you would, please. Please? PLEASE??**


	19. Oh, for the love of an Idea and Troy

**A/N: Okay, people. This is the…whatever number we're on…chapter. I'd guess, but the last time I did that, I got it wrong. I don't think there was an obscene amount of wait for this chapter, even if I just finished writing it, but I think I was subconsciously trying to procrastinate the "idea", which by the way, you find out about here. And don't laugh, because I'm pretty sure you all saw it coming.**

**Oh, and last chapter when I said "October" and "Christmastime" in the same sentence? Yeah, that was me being dumb. Just ignore that. I originally had December, but I got out a calendar and changed it to October, and forgot to change the other part. I'm dumb, just say it. Anyways...I give you...chapter 19. (I think)**

On Saturday afternoon, there were four girls, five basketball jocks, one annoying little brother, and myself at my house. And a partridge in a pear tree. The annoying little brother belonged to Troy. He was fourteen, but he was supposed to be being babysat to his great joy (ha) by Troy for the day. Technically, they were supposed to be playing basketball, but we had more important things on the schedule, so Troy dragged him to my house. We hadn't actually clued him in to anything we were doing, which was fine, because he spent most of the afternoon exploring the house.

"So, you're probably wondering why you're all here on Saturday, of all days, when you could be shopping or playing basketball," I said, when we had all gathered in the living room. "Well, you probably figured it has something to do with me and Troy, since that's basically all anything's about these days."

"Right," Kelsi continued. "So, we're proposing an idea." There was a pause for dramatic effect. She held up a few pieces of sheet music. "It's a showtunes medley."

"And…" Chad prompted. Kelsi looked at him, not quite understanding.

"We were wondering if you guys would help," Troy said. "Singing, dancing, no glitter, no leotards, just us."

"We're all in this together, right?" I supplied.

"I'm in," Gabriella said. She had been nothing but helpful since we told her about Troy and me. The one time someone had said something to me, she got all up in their face, and they dropped it. It could have been because she didn't quite want to believe it herself, but she seemed genuinely helpful.

"Me too," Sharpay said.

"I'll do it," Zeke said. Most of the room stared. "Not just because Sharpay's in."

"And I'm in," Chuckie said.

"When have you ever sang?" Chad asked.

"We just got out of the Second singing Era, Chad. Don't tell me you've never heard me sing," Chuckie said.

"He's right. I'm in, too," Jason said. The whole room was either staring at Chad, or looking at Taylor, who hadn't said anything.

"Come on, Tay, we're all in this together," Gabriella said. Taylor nodded in defeat, and everyone's heads turned to Chad.

"Guys, I don't sing. Or dance," Chad said. Troy scoffed and I started counting on my fingers.

"Get'cha Head in the Game, Stick to the Status Quo, We're All in this Together, What Time is it?, Work This Out, You are the Music in Me, I Don't Dance, Everyday, All For One," I listed, waggling the nine fingers in front of his face. He stared.

"Why are you listing a whole bunch of things we say sometimes?" he asked.

"Those are _songs_, Chad," Troy said. "Ones that you've sung."

"Oh," he said. "Okay, fine, I'm in. What are we singing?"

"That's the thing, it's not finished yet," Kelsi said. "We ran out of ideas for songs."

"But what's the purpose of all this singing, exactly?" Gabriella asked.

"It's some kind of big secret," Sharpay said. Jason whispered in Gabriella's ear, and she nodded understandingly. "Did you just tell her? Oh, come on, I want to know!" Gabriella whispered it to Sharpay, who grinned and told Zeke, who was looking at her questioningly, who then repeated this information to Chad, who told Taylor, who looked around to tell the last person left who didn't know, who was Chuckie, who received the information, and got really confused.

"Troy and Ryan are growing moss in the gym?" he asked. Taylor frowned and told him again. "Oh. How did I get _that_ from _that_?"

"No idea," Taylor said.

"Okay, not that we've randomly played telephone, and everyone in the room knows, any suggestions?" I asked.

"Well, what do you have so far?" Zeke asked. We recounted our ideas, and they gave us their input, mostly coming from Sharpay, and, surprisingly, Taylor, who seemed to have a prior knowledge of showtunes. Another thing we didn't know.

An hour later, we were fresh out of ideas, and everyone went home except Troy, Chuckie, Dylan, and Kelsi. Kelsi and I figured out some logistics, while Troy and Chuckie attempted to find Dylan, which was difficult to do. If you'd ever been to my house, you'd understand. It's like a maze. I wouldn't advise going exploring without string or one of us with you.

Kelsi and I were sitting in a room with couches and a keyboard close to the lounge, when a door opened and a voice called, "Dylan?"

"No, Troy, he's not in here," I said. A door opened on the other side of the room, and Dylan walked in, "Okay, well, now he is."

"Ohmigod, you guys," Dylan said. "There's the coolest stuff here."

"Uh-huh," I said. "Kelsi, will you take Dylan back to the living room?" Kelsi nodded and took Dylan through a third door. Right now you're probably like "Who in the world is Dylan?". He's Troy's brother, if I forgot to make that obvious. He used to give Sharpay hell when we were younger. And vice versa.

"Has Chuckie been through here?" Troy asked. I shook my head.

"Let's go look for him," I suggested. We walked in the direction Dylan had come from. As we looked through the rooms, I suddenly stopped. "Troy, is this always how it's going to be?"

"What do you mean? I'm sure we'll find him soon," Troy said.

"No, I mean, every time we get together, with the friends, and we stay afterwards to do our thing, Chuckie stays too. I don't not like him, but he's kind of like a third wheel," I said.

"He's been my best friend since preschool, Ry," Troy said.

"What about Chad?" I asked. I had always thought Chad was his best friend.

"He only _thinks_ he's my best friend," Troy said. "Chuckie's my very best friend, and I really owe him."

"Why?" I asked. I immediately knew it was a bad idea to ask. Troy looked very uncomfortable.

"For you," he said, not looking at me. "He helped me understand, and got me through, Ryan. Without him, we wouldn't be here. I owe him a lot."

"Why don't you get him a boyfriend or something?" I suggested

"I…can't do that," Troy said. "It…he…it's complicated."

"Never mind," I said. "I don't mind him around. He's…well…wait a minute." A thought had just occurred to me. "Chuckie was talking about you in his sleep. You used to go out with _him_. You've…" I was rambling out loud for the benefit of the walls, because Troy obviously knew all this stuff. "He _likes_ you."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Troy said. "I knew that."

"You knew that? You know that, and you let him carry on like that? That's kind of…" I began. I couldn't think of a good word.

"Mean?" he suggested. "I know, but there's nothing I could do about it." I raised an eyebrow. "There was nothing I could do. It's always been you, Ry."

"You led him on? That's kind of…" I began again.

"Mean?" Troy suggested again. "Not really. He knew, probably before I did."

"How?!" I asked.

"It's called a 'gaydar'," Troy tried to explain. "Don't make me explain it." I sighed.

"That's still kind of mean. Why would you even go out with him if you didn't like him?" I asked.

"I never told him I did. He knew," Troy said. "Why'd you go out with Kelsi?"

"You're comparing you and Chuckie to me and Kelsi?" I asked, incredulously. "That is totally different!"

"How?" he asked. "It's exactly the same. Kelsi likes you, Chuckie likes me. You don't see me getting jealous!"

"Kelsi's a girl, for one!" I exclaimed.

"So? What's that got to do with it?" Troy asked.

"It just…is," I said. "And for another thing, she can get herself a boyfriend, and get over me!"

"It's not as simple as you think," Troy said. "Have you ever been in love before?"

"No," I said.

"Well, you can't just drop feelings like that," Troy said. "Love…real love…it's like…your heart skips a beat whenever you see him, and it feels like all the blood is drained from your chest, and you're constantly floating on a cloud when he's around. He could talk for hours about himself, and you wouldn't care, because it's worth it just to be around him, and hear his voice. You can't eat, you can't sleep, you're too busy thinking of him. When you do sleep, you have dreams where you just spend time together. It's just…the best thing. It's so, _so_ hard to give it up."

"You sound like you have some kind of experience with this," I deduced.

"Oh, you think?" he asked. "I spent a good six months of my life trying to convince myself that I wasn't gay, I didn't love you, I didn't need you, and I could just make it stop. Couldn't do it, Ryan. I'm telling you, you can't just give that up. Especially when it's the only person you've ever loved in your whole life. There's never been anyone else, and you're so sure there'll never be anyone else. It's so, _so_ much worse when you know that person will never, _ever_ like you back. _Ever_. Ever to the point where it's pointless to tell them you love them. Do you get the point?"

"I think you're trying to tell me that…yeah, I get it," I said. "Are you saying Chuckie's in love with you?"

"No, he's not," Troy said. "But Kelsi was with you. And that should give me more reason than you to be jealous. But I'm not. There is nothing going on between me and Chuckie. Anymore. I promise."

"Okay," I said. "I'm sorry for…questioning your loyalty."

"Thanks," he said. There was a pause, while we moved into a different room, still on the search for Chuckie. "So, do you?"

"Do I what?" I asked, confused.

"Love me," he said. "Like _real_ love." I thought over what had gone on in the three weeks we'd been together."

"Yeah," I said. "I think I really do." We walked into another room, and ran right into Chuckie himself.

"I got lost," he said as his only explanation.

"It's okay," I said. We walked back through the maze of rooms, with me as a guide, and ended up in the hall again.

"_How_ do you do that?" Chuckie asked.

"I've lived here for seventeen years," I said, simply. "Practice."

* * *

We began rehearsing Monday afternoon. We started at the beginning, because as Julie Andrews is constantly telling us, "it's a very good place to start", and also because that part was written. I had begun some basic choreography, from watching tapes of original Broadway cast performances (mostly on Youtube), and the movies.

"Okay, and so Kelsi–" I began.

"I can't dance with you," Kelsi interrupted me.

"What? Why not?" Sharpay asked. "Oh my God, you're pregnant. Oh my God, you are. And it's Ryan's too. God, Ryan keep it in your pants next time. God. Gay babies everywhere."

"Okay, hold onto that, because I'm going to tell you everything that wrong with it later," I said, "but I'm pretty sure that's not why."

"Um, no," Kelsi said. "I'm not pregnant, and it isn't yours. I have to play the piano, for those of you who've forgotten."

"Oh, right," Sharpay said. "I knew that."

"I actually did know that," I said. "Anyways, Kelsi, you'll be playing the piano. We've just covered that. Okay, so who wants the very first solo?" I looked around. Everyone was looking through the music. "Okay, I know you think I should have it, but I don't want it. Does anyone want to volunteer to open the show?"

"I'll do it," Chuckie said. "I might as well."

"Okay, awesome," I said. "And you'll stand here while you're doing that…" I continued directing them all around until I'd choreographed everything we had written so far. "Okay, great job, guys! When's the next rehearsal?"

"Wednesday," Kelsi said.

"Okay, see you Wednesday!" I said. Everyone busied themselves with gathering their stuff and leaving the auditorium. I caught up with Chuckie as he left.

"Oh, hey, Ryan," he said.

"Hey. I wanted to tell you I appreciate it," I said.

"Appreciate what?" he asked, confused.

"Everything," I said.

"All I did was volunteer to sing," he said. "It's not like I've never done that before."

"No, I mean _everything_," I tried to explain. Words were not coming to me.

"Do you mean what I think you mean?" he asked. I nodded, hoping I meant what he thought I meant. "He told you." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," I said.

"Um, thanks? I'm still not sure…" he began.

"For everything you did for Troy, even when you…you know," I attempted to explain again.

"Oh. That everything," Chuckie said. There was a small pause. "You're welcome?"

"There you guys are," Troy said from behind us. "I've been looking all over for you!" He snuck up beside me and put an arm around my waist.

"You go on, babe," I said. "We'll be right out." Troy gave me a strange look and left the auditorium. I turned back to Chuckie. "You are an amazing person. I don't think I could have done it." We walked through the school in direction of the doors. "You know, people are going to find out…you know, about you when we do this."

"I know," Chuckie said. "I don't care anymore."

"Cuz Troy's doing it?" I asked. Chuckie blushed a little.

"I always kind of figured we'd come out together," he continued. "You know, when he was ready."

"You've been waiting for him for all this time?" I asked. Chuckie shrugged and nodded. "Doesn't it bother you that you're living a lie?"

"I'm not, really. The guys, well, most of them know. It's just…" Chuckie began, but ran out of words.

"Coach Bolton?" I asked. Chuckie nodded timidly. "I'm actually afraid for Troy. A little. I think he's only doing this because of me, but he swears he's not." Chuckie snorted.

"Just figures," he said. "It's always been about you. You, you, you, you, you, you. For the longest time, all I heard was Ryan, Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. It was kind of annoying actually."

"I'm sorry?" I said. I didn't really know what to say. "My sister acts that way about Troy."

"I know," Chuckie said. "I remember." We walked through the rest of the school in silence. Chuckie seemed to be having some kind of flashback. Troy was waiting for me by my car. We were going out.

"Sorry, we were talking," I said.

"That's okay," Troy said, as the two of us got into my car. "So, where are we going?"

"To iParty," I said.

"Okay. Why?" he asked.

"Isn't Gabriella's birthday on Saturday?" I asked. Troy thought and nodded. "Well, we can't very well _not_ throw a party for her. Given how she's been the last couple weeks."

"Yeah, I guess," Troy said.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I had detected a hint of sadness in his tone.

"Nothing," he lied. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he sighed. "Gabriella."

"I figured that much," I said. "What about her?"

"I don't know. That's the thing," he said. "She's been acting different every week all summer. You know?" I nodded. "Do you think she's really…you know?"

"Yeah, I do," I said. "I believe she's for real now. Back to the girl she was when we first met her."

"Except for without the usurping part?" Troy asked, laughing.

"Not funny, Troy," I said. "I'm still mad about that."

"How can you possibly still be mad about that?" he asked. "Are you still mad about the chicken pox too?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. Troy just laughed.

"Let it be known that when you park this car, I'm going to give you a kiss to make you stop being ridiculous," he informed me.

"Fine, but this is not over," I said.

* * *

By the time Saturday came, most of the basketball players (and by "most" I mean "all of them except for Chad") had mastered the situation musically, which was the easy part, unfortunately. Saturday was a day off from both music and sports, as it was Gabriella's birthday. I had the backyard decked out, and threw a pool party for her. Taylor and Troy helped with the decorations, and we invited all of Gabriella's friends. She said she really appreciated it, but we didn't have to. We told her to shut up and enjoy her birthday. She did. I think.

Sometime in the afternoon, I was pulled into a room somewhere on the first floor. "Hubbawha?" I managed. There was a finger on my lips. "Troy? What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Troy said. "I just wanted to give my boyfriend a kiss. There's no harm in that, is there?" To prove his point, he initiated a kiss.

"No, I guess there's no harm in that," I said, when it was over. Troy had become much more assertive in the area of stuff like that, but he still would never do anything that I didn't want to do. It was like Chuckie was right (as much as I didn't want to admit it), and Troy had always been about me. "But you know, I'm still not ready for…"

"I know," he said. "And I respect that, and you know that." I nodded. The extra word you're looking for is "sex" if you were wondering. We still hadn't, because "we" weren't ready, even though I had a strong suspicion that it was just me, and not we. "And that's not all relationships should be about."

"Mm," I said. If I had said anything else, I probably would have sounded like a hypocrite, even if he didn't know, which I had the strong suspicion that he did. "I wish all relationships were like that. It's not exactly feasible, is it?"

"Your sister seems to think so," Troy said. "Has she…yet?" I shook my head.

"She keeps asking me if we have yet so that I can tell her all about it, I think," I said. "She's such a snoop."

"Yeah, she's annoying like that," Troy said.

"Sad, almost," I said.

"Isn't there a party going on?" Troy asked. I grinned and nodded.

"Last one in the pool is a rotten egg?" I suggested.

"Yeah," he said, taking the time to give me another kiss, before walking with me back to the pool. The reason I had gone into the house at all, totally gone from my mind, I spent the rest of the afternoon with the Wildcats in the pool. Zeke and Chad teamed up on Sharpay, dumping her in the pool, and causing her to chase them around the backyard, before tripping and falling back into the pool. By late afternoon, I was in the hot tub / Jacuzzi / whatever you want to call it, with the most random of people: Gabriella, herself.

"Happy birthday," I told her, even though I had about seven times already.

"Thanks again, for the ninth time," she said.

"I thought it was seven," I said.

"Whatever," she said. "I still don't feel older."

"Usually we don't," I said. "So, what did you get good for presents?"

"Nothing much," she said. "I'm getting my license this week, though."

"Oh, that's cool," I said. "You'll have to take me for a drive sometime."

"Sounds like a plan," she said. "We'll have to take your car, though."

"Ha," I said. "Fat chance. There is no way you're driving my car."

"How about your _other_ car, then?" she asked.

"Which one?" I asked.

"That one we took to that place where we were when we did that one thing that one time, with the one person, who knew that other person, who was at that other place where we did that other thing, the day after we went to play Laser Tag," she explained.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "I guess you could drive that car. That'd be okay with me. It'll be my birthday present to you."

"You're not getting me an actual present?" she asked, in mock hurt.

"Hey, I threw the party, and this is my house!" I exclaimed. "This is the best present ever!"

"Didn't you throw Taylor a party about a month ago?" she asked.

"Yes, and that was my present to her," I said. "Wait, a month ago?"

"Almost," Gabriella said.

"Great, another thing to plan," I said.

"What?" Gabriella asked, confused.

"That was the night Troy asked me out," I explained. "It means our anniversary is coming up."

"Cute," was all Gabriella said. I began mumbling random ideas to myself, not taking much notice of anything going on, until I heard a telltale yell coming from the pool area that meant Chad had finally been caught for his misdeed against Sharpay.

**A/N: Okay, so tell me you all saw that one. Yes, the "idea" a showtunes medley. What the (very secretive) purpose of said medley is, you've probably deduced, but I'm not saying. Yet. I actually stayed up until like 4am on Wednesday writing the stupid medley, so that I could finish writing this chapter.**

**For the record, I don't own HSM, or ANYTHING ELSE!! Is that clear? Okay. Thanks for reading and you know what I'm going to say next.**

**Got suggestion? Review. Got ideas? Review. Got a special showtunes song you want incorporated into the medley? Review. Got a guess as to what comes up next? Review. Got milk? Review.**

**Is that clear? I want you to review this. A lot. Anyways, it would make me really happy, and make me write the next chapter faster, especially because finals start really soon, and that sucks.**

**Oh, yeah, and Dylan. Haha. Anyone figure out that one? I thought it was really funny when I invented him. He's not exactly important in this story, but he becomes quite a character in the prequel. (I'm going to keep reminding you of it in every chapter so that you remember to read it.)**

**Okay, the other thing I was going to say. Remember in the last chapter (I think) when I said there was only like three chapters left? I was wrong. There's a certain amount, and then the performance of the "idea" and then an epilogue (I think.) Got opinions? Review.**

**Samantha.**


	20. And, NO, we are not doing THAT tonight

Tuesday afternoon, I purposely ended rehearsals early (the jocks had the afternoon off from basketball, and they had a lot of homework), so that I could have a perfect anniversary with Troy. Troy Bolton. My boyfriend. It felt good to hear myself think it. Did I mention he's gorgeous? And amazing? And he has these blue eyes that…. Anyways, you know all of that.

I drove Troy out to this little restaurant in the village. It was Italian, one of our favorites. Well, my favorites. I had a strong suspicion that Troy liked a lot of things because I liked them. We joked and laughed (about hats among other subjects) and ended up on a balcony overlooking a little lake…or a river. Some kind of water, anyways. It was really pretty. Our conversation turned to more serious things, like the guys, and how their singing was. On the car ride home (to my house, of course), we listened to some music (Anywhere But Here – Hilary Duff was one of the selections). Everything was light and fluffy and according to plan. Have I ever mentioned how sweet Troy is? Or gorgeous?

Okay, so, despite my frequent comments about Troy's looks, I'm not just in this because he's gorgeous. (But he is. Have you ever _seen_ him?) He was sweet, and caring, and just…Troy. I was beginning to see what Gabriella and Sharpay ever saw in him. Not that I hadn't before. It just never hit me like that before.

We were sitting on the balcony of my bedroom, overlooking one of the main gardens (complete with fountain), when the subject was brought up again.

"You know, Ry," Troy began.

"Before you even _think_ it, Troy, _no_ we are not doing _that_ tonight," I preempted. Troy blushed and chuckled.

"That wasn't what I was thinking, actually," he said. It was my turn to blush. "I was going to say that the sky is really pretty."

"Again, you _know_ what happened the last time I did that," I said. He chuckled some more.

"Who says that's a bad thing?" he asked.

"I told you before, I'm just not…you know?" I said. He nodded. He understood, but it was still the topic of many jokes. I exhaled a little too loudly and Troy looked at me, expecting me to say something. When I didn't, he continued.

"You know I love you, right?" he asked.

"Yes, Troy, I know," I said. "And I love you too."

"I know," he said. "So you can tell me anything that's bothering you."

"I know," I said. "It's just…complicated, you know?"

"What is?" he asked.

"Life!" I exclaimed. "Why does it have to be so gosh darn difficult?"

"When did you start saying 'gosh darn'?" he asked.

"Touché," I said. I frowned for a second, wondering if that was the correct usage for the word, but ignored it. "And…I'm scared." There was a pause while Troy frowned.

"It's not that big a deal," Troy said. "If you're not ready, you're not ready. No big deal."

"No, not about that. Well, yes, about that, but that wasn't what I was thinking of," I said. "I'm scared for you."

"About what?" he asked. _Boys can be so dense sometimes._

"You. And the whole…thing…you know?" I said. "The rest of the guys…and your family, and every one else, you know? You're Troy Bolton. You're not supposed to be…with guys. You're supposed to marry the pretty blond girl, and have seventeen kids, and lead the perfect life. Troy Bolton."

"Seventeen kids?!" Troy exclaimed in shock. "I am _not_ having seventeen kids. You can tell Sharpay it's off, period, even if I wasn't gay if she was going to have seventeen kids."

"She wasn't going to have seventeen kids," I said, dismissively, "but you missed the point. Don't you ever worry about how everyone is going to react? You're _Troy Bolton_."

"I don't know why you keep telling me my name," Troy said. "I _know_ I'm Troy Bolton. I'm not really worried. Not really. I mean, I was scared at first, but no one has said anything to you at all, so far. Maybe they're more accepting than we originally thought. I just…remember there was this one football player who was in high school when we were in middle school, and he was _the_ guy. The best guy."

"Like you," I supplied.

"Kind of," Troy said. "But not nearly as attractive. Anyways, no one ever said a word to him about anything, no one ever thought about saying anything about him, or, even worse, to his face."

"Does this story have a point?" I asked. Troy shushed me.

"It was his senior year, it was after football season, it didn't even really matter anymore, and no one knows exactly why he did it, but he…came out. He was eighteen, and he'd known all the people in that school for upwards of 13 years, and all of a sudden there was just a big huge riot, and he…well, I didn't hear _exactly_ what happened, but there was ambulances involved." I gasped. I'd never heard that before. "I'm pretty sure there was this other guy who provoked him, and he just ended up punching his lights out. Principal Matsui held a big assembly about school spirit and stuff, and totally ignored the fact that homophobia was the main reason for the attack."

"Was the football guy okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Duh," Troy said. "He punched the other guy's lights out. Did I not make that clear?"

"Oh," I said. "But…what does this have to do with you? Or us?"

"I don't know," Troy admitted, "but I'll figure it out. So, that was in early 2003. Chuckie, for one, was…scared, to put it simply. That's when he started being a lot more secretive about…himself. It's not like a lot of people would have expected it anyways."

"Unless they've seen him dance," I interjected. "That kid is smokin' on the dance floor." Troy had a look on his face that quite clearly read "TMI". "Sorry."

"That's okay," Troy said. "I mean, yeah, but…. Anyways, after the whole football guy thing, we just…lay low. For a really long time. Chuckie knew he wouldn't be able to punch some homophobic football guys' lights out. I promised to protect him, but we both knew I couldn't ever do that without, you know, coming out myself."

"So that's why Chuckie said you'd always planned to come out together," I deduced.

"Well, not _planned_ exactly," Troy said. "More unspoken pact, really. Ol' Chuck's been putting it off for a while."

"How long?" I asked, intrigued about how long it actually had been.

"Um…much longer than he tells most people," Troy said. "He's one of those one's that have always _known_, you know?" I nodded. "Do you ever wonder how many other people at our school, spurred by our lead, will come out too?" To tell the truth, I'd never actually thought about it.

"Maybe," I said. "Kind of like the whole 'stick to the status quo' disaster?"

"Only _you_ would think that was a disaster," Troy laughed.

"Gabriella ruined one of Sharpay's perfectly good shirts!" I exclaimed. "And people were…confessing."

"Now you sound like Chad," Troy said. "But don't tell me you don't like baking Zeke better than just Zeke."

"Okay, maybe," I said. "Plus it gives Sharpay a random love interest for the purposes of our stories, even if she's still hung up on her ex – you – whatever, you know?"

"Sure," Troy said, evidently losing interest in the subject. "But you still understand _why_ we basically have to do this whole coming out, thing, right?"

"Isn't that my line?" I asked. "I'm the one who's 'out'. Kind of, at least."

"Still a wonder no one's figured it out yet," Troy said.

"Hey, they were at Lava Springs, well, most of them. They probably think I'm crushing on Chad, just like Sharpay thinks. Thought. Whatever."

"It would be really funny if you flirted with him in the hall," Troy said, laughing.

"It would _not_," I said. "Unless you want Chad to kill me." Troy pouted. "I am not going to hit on Chad. It's like asking for a death sentence."

"Fine," Troy said. There was a long pause, while we watched the stars, despite my reservations about it.

"Sometime, Troy," I said, preempting his thoughts again, because his mouth had opened. "But not today." He blushed and chuckled some more.

"No day but today, Ry," he said. I sighed. He was never going to drop the jokes. "I'm kidding, you know."

"You better be," I mumbled. "I'm pretty sure I have to sit down in school tomorrow." Troy burst into laughter at that. "It wasn't funny."

"Yes, it was," Troy protested. "You made a gay sex joke! Despite the fact if it was funny or not, you still made it, and that makes it funny anyways."

"It does _not_," I said.

"Does too."

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Does–" Troy silenced my protest with a kiss. "Unfair."

"It was _not_," Troy protested, proving the point with another kiss. We continued "arguing" in this manner, until Troy's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. "Ooh," he joked, taking it out. "Hello? No, I'm at Ryan's. Yes, it is marvelous that we're friends again. Yes, I did all my homework. No, I was _not_ planning on spending the night. You know, I can stay home alone. Yes, I can. I can, and I have. That does too count! No, Mrs. Brown was _not_ there! So what if Chuckie was over? Well, what about Dylan? Fine, I'll ask." He took the phone away from his ear, and turned to me. "Mom and Dad are going somewhere tonight, and I apparently can't stay home alone, even though I'm _seventeen_!" He directed the last word towards the phone, and I heard Mrs. Bolton's voice coming out of it, even though I couldn't hear what she was saying. "And she wants to know if I can stay here."

"Sure, whatever," I said. "You know you're always welcome here." Troy smiled and turned back to the phone.

"Yeah, it's fine," Troy said. "No, that's okay. Nah, I have some. Mom! That is _not_ what we need to talk about right now. Yes, I know. Can we not talk about this right now? Because it's embarrassing! I can sleep without my stupid care bear, okay? Fine." He snapped his phone shut. "She's bringing over a change of clothes for me and my dumbass care bear."

"You have a care bear?" I asked. "Ooh, which one?"

"The pink elephant," Troy grumbled.

"That's a care bear _cousin_, Troy. That is _not_ the same thing," I said. "What's its name?"

"His name is Shawn," Troy said. I sniggered, prompting him to defend the reason his pink elephant is named Shawn. "He's named after my…uncle who gave him to me."

"Sure he is," I said. "Your 'uncle' must have had some sense of humor." So, Troy was spending the night. No big deal, right? He'd done that before. Several times. Just never on our _anniversary_. Troy's parents had helluva timing. Within twenty minutes, there were distinguished sounds of a car pulling into the driveway, and a butler receiving stuff from Troy's mom. We were lucky my mom and dad weren't home, or else they might have said something to Troy's mom. As we heard Mrs. Bolton's car leaving the estate, Troy's phone vibrated again.

"Don't talk and drive, mother," Troy answered it. "Yes, I know you were just here. Of _course_ Mr. and Mrs. Evans are home. Okay, fine they're not. But the staff is here. Don't _worry_ mom, nothing is going to happen. No, I am _not_ still dating Sharpay. Because I'm not, and that's why! No, mom, and that's final!" He hung up the phone again.

"Nice save," I joked.

"Shut up," he said. "It's not my fault my parents are paranoid. I wouldn't be surprised if mom packed me a condom or something." The butler knocked on the door to my room at that moment, and I went to get Troy's stuff. Dumping it on the bed as I went back out to the balcony, I spotted Troy checking out my ass again.

"Stop. Staring. At my ass," I said.

"Oh, because you never stare," Troy said. I blushed, causing Troy to come back into my room, shutting the door to the balcony as he did so.

"You know Sharpay's here, right?" I said, to the face he was wearing. "I'm not sure how she would react to…anything we might or might not decide to do in here."

"Clever," Troy said. "Let's go find her!" He randomly sprouted a very happy smile and bounded across the hall, and knocking on Sharpay's door. She answered it in a very disgruntled state, but perked up greatly when she saw it was Troy. I looked past the both of them and saw Zeke in her room, and raised my eyebrows.

"Don't even think about getting any ideas, Ryan," Sharpay said. "We're _studying_."

"Well, _fine_, then," I said. "Troy's spending the night."

"What?!" Sharpay exploded. She turned to Zeke and said, "I'll be right back," and walked into the hallway with me and Troy, closing the door behind her. "How? Why? And for what purpose? Should I evacuate the premises?"

"No!" I said. "His parents are going somewhere, and they're paranoid, so he's spending the night here."

"So _that's_ your cover up," Sharpay said. "Too bad I never thought of that one when were dating." She shook her head sadly at Troy.

"You do realize that never really would have worked, right?" I said. "You're not exactly his type…"

"Of course I am! I'm Sharpay Evans!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"You guys do realize that I'm right here and I can hear what you're saying, right?" Troy said, all the happy draining slowly from him.

"Yeah," Sharpay and I said together before turning back to each other.

"So, since neither of us are _doing_ anything," I said, "why don't we all hang out together? Unless you're too busy _studying_."

"No, we're good," Sharpay said. "You go downstairs, we'll be right there." She walked back into her room, and I smirked at Troy.

"Your mom _did_ bring you a condom, by the way," I said. "Which is probably good, considering I don't think Sharpay knows where I keep mine." Troy's face went totally blank, and I laughed. "What, you think I just go around…never mind. Forget I said anything. Let's just say, you _hopefully_ don't have to worry about Gabriella or Kelsi getting pregnant on my account."

"Probably?" Troy asked, concerned.

"Well, they only work, like, 97 percent of the time…and I don't exactly _remember_ the whole Gabriella one," I said. "But she doesn't seem stupid."

"Ew, sex with girls," Troy joked, trying to lighten the mood.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the four of us were downstairs in the living room, thinking of something to do.

"So, Troy," Sharpay said, "if you're here, where's Dylan?"

"He elected to not come here," Troy said. "He's at one of his friends' house. Becca…something."

"He's at a girl's house?" Zeke asked. "Wow, your parents are cool."

"Ha," Troy said. "My mom packed me a freaking condom so that I can have 'safe sex' with _Sharpay_."

"Okay, maybe not so cool," Sharpay said, frowning at Troy. "I'm not coming near you. Ever."

"Fine by me," Troy said. I cleared my throat. "Because I have this twin." He put an arm around me and lay back into the couch.

"You're strangulating me," I choked. Troy immediately relinquished his grip, and I sighed. Sometimes he treated me like I was going to break, and other times he forgot I could break.

"Sorry, man," Troy said. "So what are we going to do?"

"We could play Truth or Dare!" Sharpay said. The other three of us groaned.

"It's no fun if we're not drunk, or twelve," I said. "Think of something else."

"How about just Truths," Zeke suggested. "The dare part would be kind of pointless, but the truthiness of the game will never be outdone."

"Fine," Sharpay said. "We'll play Truths. I'll start. Ryan, brother, why oh why oh why do you feel the need to take Troy away from me so selfishly like you did?" She said it with a well rehearsed air, almost like a yawn.

"I didn't?" I said. "It's more like he took me away from you so selfishly, but not really selfishly."

"Bad answer," Sharpay complained, but it was my turn.

"Oh, Zeke??" I called over to him.

"Why must all Evanses speak in that same annoying sing-song way?" Zeke asked.

"That's not the question," I reprimanded him. "When did you first know you had a crush on Sharpay?"

"I don't know," Zeke said. "Like, high school…sometime…maybe."

"Be vaguer," Troy suggested. Zeke stuck out his tongue.

"Okay, Troy…," Zeke said, trying to think of a good question. "Who was your first gay crush, and when?"

"Jeez," Troy said. "Uh, it was Ryan, and it was the seventh grade. Ish."

"Nice," I commented. "I never knew that."

"He certainly never showed it," Sharpay grumbled.

"Hey, we broke up!" Troy exclaimed at her.

"Whatever," Sharpay mumbled.

"Fine, then, Sharpay," Troy said. "Why are you going out with Zeke?" Sharpay went white.

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm," Sharpay began. "I…don't know?"

"There must be one reason," Troy prompted her.

"His cookies are genius?" Sharpay suggested. "He's there? And single? And cute? And treats me like the princess that I deserve to be? And bakes?"

"That's six reasons," Troy said. "See? I knew you could do it."

"Fine," Sharpay said, now thoroughly embarrassed, "why are you going out with Ryan?"

"Because he's amazingly perfect in every sense of the word," Troy said. "And he has great taste in clothes, and wears those pink hats that make Chad go crazy, and has a cute ass, and–"

"Stop talking about my ass!" I interrupted. "We've had this conversation."

"–and he doesn't care what people think, and he loves me, and I love him," Troy continued as though I hadn't interrupted him.

"That's so sweet," Zeke remarked. Every one turned to stare at him, including Sharpay's dog, Boi, who was there at the time. "What? It is."

"Okay, then," Troy said. "Zeke, who was your first gay crush?"

"What?!" Zeke squeaked. "That's ridiculous. I don't have gay crushes. I have straight crushes."

"Oh come on," I said, playing along. "There must be one guy you think is hot." Sharpay turned directly to face Zeke, now very interested in the answer.

"I don't know," Zeke said. "Um, I don't know!"

"Fine, be that way," Sharpay said, crossing her arms and turning away.

"Fine," Zeke said. "Then you won't get any crème brûlée." Sharpay immediately melted her ice façade, and turned to puppy dog pout.

"Please can I have some crème brûlée?" Sharpay begged.

"Maybe," Zeke said. "In the meantime, Ryan…who and when was your first kiss?"

"Um, at a party," I said. "I was drunk, and I don't remember."

"So what else is new?" Sharpay said, snorting. Zeke frowned at her.

"That's really sad you can't remember," Zeke said. "Did this person have a gender?"

"Sex," Troy said, randomly. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"What?" Zeke said.

"Sex," Troy repeated. "People have sex, while nouns have genders."

"Okay," I said. "And yes, she was a girl. I really hope it wasn't Sharpay." Zeke and Troy laughed, but Sharpay looked scared. "I'm sure it wasn't. Anyways, since you asked, Zeke who and when was your first kiss?"

"Um, Kelsi," Zeke said. "Freshman year."

"As in _Kelsi_ Kelsi?" I asked. Zeke nodded. "Man, she gets around."

"It wasn't like that," Zeke said. "It was…never mind." He blushed and looked at the floor.

"Okay, we won't ask," I said. "Until next time."

"Okay, um, Troy," Zeke said. "Did you ever…_look_…in the showers?" Troy giggled (yep, giggled) and looked at the floor.

"No," he said.

"Are you lying, Troy?" I asked.

"No," he said again.

"Troy?" Zeke asked. "Be honest with us. We don't really care…"

"HA!!" I exclaimed, jumping up and pointing at Zeke. Everyone stared at me, and I sat back down, quietly. "Never mind."

"No," Troy said, now looking at Zeke. "Not intentionally. Not at you. Or the guys. Or…no. Okay?"

"Okay," Zeke said, not believing it. "I believe you." I believed him. Sort of. I wanted to believe him. I was finding it difficult to continue taking showers after gym class, and imagined how weird it would be for Troy, after basketball practice.

"If it bothers you guys, I can just go home and shower," Troy said. "But I swear I don't look. On purpose."

"It's…let's change the subject and deal with this later," Zeke said.

"Fine," Troy said. "Sharpay…. Why are you so bossy all the time?"

"I am NOT bossy!" Sharpay said. "Take that back!" Everyone gave her a face, and she closed her mouth, and sat back onto the couch. "Okay, maybe I'm a little bossy. But I'm not _that_ bossy." Everyone continued to look at her. "No, no, no! I'm not spoiled! I'm not a brat! I am not bossy! I just…have good taste. That's it. I'm not spoiled, I just have good taste."

"How much does the shirt you're wearing cost?" Troy asked her.

"I don't know," Sharpay said. "Like a thousand and something. But it's from–"

"What does that have to do with her being bossy?" I asked. "So, she's got expensive clothes. So what?"

"You don't _mind_ that she's treated you like a poodle for seventeen years?" Troy asked me, incredulously.

"Sure, I do," I said, "but for a while, she was the only one I had. It's just in her nature to be bossy. Just like it's in your nature to be a basketball player."

"Whatever," Troy said. "I still don't think it's cool."

"Me neither," I said. "But she can't help it."

"You do know I'm right here, and can hear everything you're saying, right?" Sharpay asked.

"Yes," I said. "But it's your turn."

"Right," Sharpay said. "Zeke, darling, please recount for us, and no skimping on the details, what exactly was going on with you and Chad last weekend at the party, and what exactly it was that possessed you to dump me into the pool."

"Uh, Chad and I thought it'd be fun?" Zeke said. "Well, Chad thought it'd be fun, and I thought it'd be funny to watch you chase him around."

"By the sounds of it, it sounds like Zeke needs to be dumped in the pool," I said, jokingly. Sharpay tried vainly to pick him up, but to no avail.

"He's too heavy," Sharpay said. "I can't pick him up."

"Don't worry, he will be revenged upon," Troy said.

"Sure," Zeke laughed. "Troy. No skimping on details, exactly how many boyfriends have you had before Ryan?"

"Uh…" Troy began. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear this. "One."

"Really?" Sharpay asked. "You had a boyfriend before Ryan? How did I miss that one?"

"You weren't paying attention?" Troy offered. "Busy with _Chad_?" Sharpay blushed, and looked down.

"Who, then?" Sharpay asked.

"Wasn't part of the question, now was it?" Troy said, slyly. _He's good._ "So, Ryan, exactly how uncomfortable are you with this game right now?"

"About a six or a seven," I said.

"On a scale from one to…" Troy prompted.

"Five," I said. "Sharpay, why does it bother you so much that Troy likes me instead of you?"

"Because!" Sharpay burst out. "He's _Troy Bolton_! He's supposed to like me! And we're supposed to get married and have seventeen kids! Troy Bolton!"

"So, we've established my name," Troy said. "And that you want to have seventeen kids. Good luck, Zeke." Zeke laughed.

"We're not having seventeen kids, okay?" he asked Sharpay. She waved the issue away.

"That's not the point," she said. "He's…Troy. He's _the_ guy. This is a big repeat of the Cliff Harrison disaster of '03."

"Who's Cliff Harrison?" I asked.

"He's the football guy," Troy said. "The one I was telling you about." I nodded my understanding. "What does he have to do with this?"

"It's just, that's exactly what this is!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"I'm not going to have to punch anyone's lights out to defend myself," Troy said. "It's not the same."

"Whatever," Sharpay said. "It's still similar." The clock behind Sharpay chimed, telling us it was midnight, and we hadn't even noticed.

"Crap, school tomorrow," Troy said. "I guess it's bedtime." He grinned at me, but I scowled. There was more to the Cliff Harrison case than he was letting on about. And _no_, we are not doing _that_ tonight.

**A/N: Okay, so chapter longer than most (I think), but I like it a lot. (I think.) I, myself, happen to have the pink elephant care bear cousin, and his name is Shawn, after my friend from back home who I never see anymore.**

**My apologies to anyone out there named "Cliff Harrison". This character is not meant to resemble you in anyway, and I'm not stalking you. He will not actually make an appearance, at least not in this story, I don't think.**

**Um, so…I don't own HSM or anything (like care bears) as usual, and…yeah. Thanks for reading, and please review, because I like it when I get reviews, and they make me happy, and I'm sad right now, because I just had two of my last classes of the semester, and while I will not miss Chemistry (hoping I pass, fingers crossed), I'm going to miss Humanities class. Two more classes tomorrow, like, seven meetings with important people, three finals, and I am home for the summer!! Yay!! It is exciting!**

**Um, what was I saying? Oh, right, review. Thanks.**

**Samantha.**

**PS, I really like the song "Anywhere But Here" by Hilary Duff. I was reading something, and the lyrics popped into my head, and so I was listening to it while writing this as well as the HSM2 soundtrack, primarily "Work This Out". I don't own any of these songs.**


	21. Lucky Chapter 21

The next few days at school passed, without incident, except for Sharpay was slightly more annoying than she'd been in a few weeks. She started mouthing off freshmen, but they didn't say anything. She was Sharpay Evans, of course. But every time Zeke showed up by her side with a bag of cookies, or some other kind of baked good, she would immediately stop whatever she was doing and shower him over with kisses, taking the food without question. Not that it was odd, or anything, it just seemed weird.

The next Wednesday was Chuckie's birthday, and the guys took him to an arcade. He hadn't wanted a pool party at my house. I couldn't figure out why, but it was his decision. I had hesitantly asked if I was invited, and Troy had said that of course I was, but it still felt weird.

The arcade had Laser Tag, and a roller rink, so we had fun. Troy, Chuckie and I managed to kick Zeke, Chad, and Jason's asses at Laser Tag, which was the cause of much teasing (again). After Troy, Chad, Zeke, and Jason went to play some Skeeball (which apparently they have an ongoing feud about, go figure), I found Chuckie moping around by the concession stand.

"Hey, Chuckie," I said. "Why so mopey?"

"I'm not mopey," Chuckie said, attempting a smile.

"Now you just look creepy," I said. Chuckie frowned and dropped the fake smile. He looked in the opposite direction of me, towards the boys playing Skeeball. "Penny for your thoughts."

"Troy," Chuckie said, still frowning.

"Kind of figured," I said. There was a long pause.

"I don't hate you," Chuckie said.

"Um, thank you?" I said. I wasn't really under the impression that he did.

"I try to, but it's hard," Chuckie said. He sighed.

"Troy, again?" I said. Chuckie nodded. "Look, I'm sorry. If I'd known…"

"Nah," Chuckie said. "Then _he'd_ just be mopey. It's like things never would've worked out anyways, you know?"

"Yeah," I said. "Come on, though, it's your birthday. Live a little. What do you want to do?" _Whoa, bad idea to ask._ Chuckie didn't get the smirk on his face that Troy would have gotten if I'd asked him the same question, but just shrugged. "Wanna come skating?" He shrugged again. "Well, it's your birthday, you choose."

"Don't care," Chuckie said. I shrugged, and bought myself some nachos and cheese. I sat back down at Chuckie's table.

"Nacho?" I offered. He shrugged and took some nachos. "It's your birthday. You should be having fun."

"Enh," Chuckie said.

"When I turned seventeen…Sharpay threw herself a great big party and invited the entire school, and then sang a whole bunch of drunk karaoke," I said.

"I know, I was there," Chuckie said. I nodded, and was silent for a while. "Wanna go skating?"

"Sure," I said, happy that Chuckie was finally going to get up and do something.

"Good. Go," Chuckie said.

"Oh, bad trick," I said. I got up anyways, and walked over to the Skeeball games. "Troy," I said, in a sing-song voice.

"Not now," Troy said, still engrossed in his game. I frowned.

"Troy," I declared.

"Not now," Troy repeated.

"Troy!" I said, very loudly.

"Not now!" he replied a third time.

"Jesus Christ, Troy, can't you stop playing for one freaking second?" I asked. Troy just waved a hand in my direction and I sighed. I walked back over to the table where Chuckie was still sitting with my nachos. "I hate men."

"Join the club," Chuckie said. I ate a few nachos.

"Do they always do that?" I asked. Chuckie nodded. "That sucks."

"Mm," Chuckie said.

"So they just drag you here on your birthday, and then totally ignore you to play Skeeball?" I asked. Chuckie nodded. "That's…terrible."

"It sounds bad, but they do it every year," Chuckie said. "It's like a tradition."

"Whatever," I said. "If it was my birthday, I wouldn't put up with it." Then, a thought occurred to me. "Hey, you wanna ditch 'em?"

"We couldn't do that," Chuckie said.

"Sure we could, it's not like they'd notice," I said. "Come on, we'll go…shopping or to a movie or something. It'll be fun."

"I don't know," said Chuckie, not convinced.

"It's your birthday. Live a little," I said. "And it's on me."

"Okay, fine," Chuckie agreed. "Let's go!"

Chuckie and I quickly left the arcade / roller rink, and ventured into the mall itself. Neither of us really needed anything, so mostly we just walked around, until Chuckie stopped in front of Dick's Sporting Goods.

"Dick's? Really?" I asked.

"Hey, it's my birthday," Chuckie said. "And I want to browse the sports store."

"Okay. Whatever you say," I said. We'd never done this before. Done anything together. I thought it was good to make a good impression on Chuckie, so that he didn't hate me, even though he said he didn't. After all, he's Troy's "very best friend". I swear Chuckie went through every single aisle in that store, and he didn't buy a single thing. It's almost worse than when Sharpay decides to buy out entire stores. Almost. When he was finished (and of course he insisted upon trying out every single basketball, and the indoor putting green, which, I have to admit, was fun), we ventured into the middle of the mall, where the food court was, and just sat down. We didn't order any food, because we weren't hungry so we just sat.

"Can I tell you something?" Chuckie asked. I was taken aback that he'd want to talk to me, let alone tell me something.

"Uh, sure," I said.

"Troy…he means well. He doesn't always show it, and he can be a real jerk sometimes, but he never does anything unless he thinks he's doing the right thing," Chuckie said. "With, uh, three exceptions."

"Three?" I asked. I could only think of two.

"Yeah," Chuckie said. "And, um, take good care of him? For me?"

"Are you dying, or, like, moving away, or terminally ill, or something? Cuz you're kind of creeping me out," I said.

"No," Chuckie laughed. "I'm just…I can finally do it. You seem like a good guy."

"Thanks, I guess," I said. "You're a good guy, too."

"You know it," he said. There was a long silence, and then my cell phone rang. I answered it.

"Hello?" I asked, very sweetly, because I knew who it was without looking at it.

"Where are you?!" Troy asked, very concerned, from the other end of the phone.

"The food court," I said, innocently.

"Why?!" Troy asked.

"Because we were bored," I said. "Are you done playing Skeeball?"

"Yes," Troy said. "We're coming to find you right now." He hung up.

"Well, gee, I love you, too," I said, lowering the phone and closing it. Chuckie laughed. "You know what would be lots of fun?" Chuckie nodded.

"Let's go!" he said. We snuck out the side door of the mall, and out to my car. I got into the driver's seat, and Chuckie sat on the hood.

"How long before you think they figure out we're out here?" I asked.

"I give in five minutes," Chuckie said. Sure enough, five minutes later, a very annoyed looking Troy came huffing up to the car, followed by an amused Zeke, Jason, and Chad. Chuckie and I laughed at the look on Troy's face.

"Oh, hey, honey," I said. "Why so angry?" Chuckie stifled another laugh at my innocent tone. Troy scowled, but we both know he can't stay mad at me for long.

"Don't run off like that," he said.

"Well, for your information, I tried to talk to you, but you blew me off," I said. "Right?"

"Right," Chuckie said.

"Plus, it's his _birthday_. You were totally ignoring him," I said.

"It's true," Chad said, helpfully. Troy did not look in the least bit amused, but it was funny. Chuckie jumped in the backseat of my car, leaving the door open for Troy, who grudgingly got in the front seat. I waved to Chad, Zeke, and Jason, and drove out of the parking lot.

"That wasn't cool," Troy said, finally calming done to a normal tone of voice. "I was really worried."

"Mm," Chuckie said.

"Don't get me started on you," Troy said.

"Don't get me started on _you_," Chuckie shot back.

"Boys, calm down," I said. "Look, no harm done. We just had a little fun. Actually, _he_ had a little fun. I was dragged through the entire Dick's." Troy giggled a little. "What?"

"Dick's," he said.

"That's the name of the store, Troy," I said.

"It's still funny," he said.

"Is he ever going to grow up?" I asked Chuckie, who shook his head, smiling. I rolled my eyes and drove down the road, in the direction of Troy's street. I stopped the car in Troy's driveway, and Chuckie departed for his house (his mom wanted him home to celebrate his birthday), and Troy and I went into his house. His dad wasn't home yet. "Hi Mrs. Bolton," I called on my way upstairs.

When we got to the top of the stairs, we were confronted by Dylan. "Is there something you need to tell me?" Dylan asked.

"When did he start acquiring Sharpay-like traits?" I whispered to Troy, who shrugged.

"Well, is there?" Dylan repeated.

"Can you get back to us on that in like…five or six weeks?" Troy asked, turning the corner and disappearing into his bedroom.

"Bye!" I said cheerfully, following Troy. I shut the door to his room, once inside, and both Troy and I burst into laughter. "Okay, so it's been over a month, and the only person in the whole wide school district to notice is your brother?"

"I know, right?" Troy said. "It sure is funny. Hope he doesn't tell Dad."

"He won't," I assured him, even though I wasn't really sure. "Meanwhile, we have the rest of the afternoon…and nothing to do."

"So, we need to find something to do," Troy said.

"Yes, that's what I said," I said.

"Wanna play with my Play Station?" Troy asked.

"That thing is older than dirt," I said. "But sure. Maybe you can actually win."

"I am not _that_ bad," Troy protested.

"Prove it," I challenged. He took his old Play Station out of his closet and we tromped down to the living room, and Troy failed to prove that he could win at his own game, for which he will suffer great humiliations from. Or, at least, he would, if everyone in the whole wide school district didn't already know he was horrible. "You have got to come over and play with my Wii sometime."

"Dude, you have a Wii?" Troy asked. "How did I not know that?"

"You never asked," I said.

"Damn," Troy said. "Jealousy, thy name is Troy."

* * *

Things were going great in the Troy and Ryan world since Troy declared himself the reincarnation of jealousy. He came over to my house every afternoon after rehearsal that week, and, sadly, I lost badly at Wii Basketball. I chalked it up to Troy's superior basketball skills, although I probably would have lost to a chimpanzee. Yeah, I'm that bad.

Several weeks had passed (as did Kelsi's birthday, for which Sharpay and I threw a musically themed party, featuring a CD of Kelsi's hits that we made for her), and we were coming down to our last few rehearsals before the big performance. Chad was getting stage fright. So was Kelsi.

"Kels, you've got to calm down. You can do this. You've played the piano a billion times before," I said. "You're not like Chad and Jason, who have no clue what they're doing on stage. You belong here. Are you with me?" Kelsi nodded meekly. "Good. Because what team?"

"Wildcats," Kelsi said.

"Excellent. Now, we're going to run the entire thing, okay?" I said. Kelsi nodded and manned the piano. Or womanned the piano. Or whatever. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are going to run the whole thing. Can you handle that? Ignore where I'm supposed to be, I'll jump in the next time through. I want to watch this time." The company, as I had laughingly started referring to them as, collected into their starting positions. There was one prop on the stage, a table, that ran down the length of the stage. It was sturdy enough to dance on, and dance on it we would.

Kelsi struck the beginning chord, and Chuckie stepped forward to begin the piece. I had had doubts, but he was getting good at his beginning solo, which was good because it was the beginning, and it had to be just right. As he finished the solo, I made a note that all the lights should come up then, and the company sprang into life. Jason and Chad split the next solo, line for line, while the rest backed them up.

After the beginning solos, there was a company number that was relative partner dance, but the girls were outnumbered two to one, so each was given two boys to dance with. It's not often the boys on stage outnumber the girls. Two more company numbers (although more solo dancing) followed, and then Zeke came across with his solo prompting Chad, Sharpay, and I with our single lines, and then there was a bit where Gabriella and I were supposed to dance on the table while singing, followed by mini solos by the rest of the company, then there was a simultaneous clap, and the music slowed down to another number (without dancing), but with an amazing solo by Gabriella (I didn't know she could sing that high. Sharpay sure can't).

After that, the whole company burst into an overly peppy song, with very loose choreography, in which Taylor and Chad had the solos, for no other reason than we thought it was cute. Then it transitioned into a number, with Troy singing the solo, and the rest for backup, with complicated dancing, that had been lost on Chad, so he was in the back providing backup with Jason and Troy, while the other three of us boys partner danced with the girls. (Zeke with Sharpay, Me with Gabriella, and Chuckie with Taylor.) Then there was an amazing transition into a full chorus (with four different singing parts), that ended the first half of the show, and there was a pause for applause, and bravos, and whatnot, as the lights would go down again, (if I remembered to write it down to cue the lights people on show night), and then Sharpay would yell "A 5, 6, 7, 8!" and we would go into another song, followed by another group song, both with rather loose choreography. Then the music calmed down, and we would gather back around the table again for the part that I was sure would get us all suspended, if I hadn't gone and talked to Principal Matsui about it. Fortunately, he said it was okay.

I'm not sure at what point the next song became a show tune, but Jason wanted it in there, so that was next, followed by another song that was of questionable origin, although another partner dance, with Troy singing the lead, then another partner dance followed that, with Gabriella and I singing the leads, followed by a dead stop in the music, before the guys and I would set up a stomp, clap, stomp, stomp, clap, clap type beat, and Sharpay would sing a solo, with the guys as backups (even though it was a little weird for me to do it, and Chuckie sure didn't like it that much).

Then Kelsi would provide six beats, and the girls would move to the front and sing a song that was just them, which probably also would have gotten us suspended, but I'd cleared that too. Then there were two more songs, that were just for fun, before returning to the main theme song, for the very ending, in which almost everyone would get a solo, and a turn to cavort across the table, before finishing the amazing piece with the last four words, which I think have an amazing effect on everyone. And then it would be the end. And everyone would know. It was taking a big risk, but, hey, we're risk takers here in the theater department. And Troy and Chad have our backs, right? I secretly hope that we didn't drive the point too far home, and people would start thinking Gabriella was a lesbian. Because she's not.

"Great job!" I called when they had finished. "But, uh, Troy, you're standing in my place." He looked sheepish and moved into the place where he should have been. "Great. Let's run it again, Kelsi, and I'll jump in this time." We ran it through again, and by the time we were finished, everyone was tired, but it looked almost perfect. Sharpay could give everyone notes until their ears fell off, but I thought it was good. "The last pose has to be perfect. That's what everyone will remember!" I called, as everyone left the auditorium.

"Ryan," Troy said in a sing-song voice.

"Yes, dear," I said. "What is it this time? The sky is falling? Lassie fell into the ravine? Elle's trapped in the old valley mall?"

"No," Troy said, laughing, "my parents are going out of town again. Can I stay at your house?"

"Because you need a lame excuse to stay at my house, or you can't stay home alone?" I asked.

"Both," Troy said.

"Sure," I said. "It's Friday, right?"

"Right!" Troy said. We left the auditorium quickly, and after a quick stop at Troy's house for a change of clothes and that care bear he needs to sleep (or his mother seems to think he needs to sleep. I've seen him sleep without it), we were at my house. Just like that. We teleported. Kidding. We drove, like normal people. Sharpay was waiting for us when we got there.

"What took you guys so long? Stop by the side of the road for a quick sex?" Sharpay asked. It was hard to tell whether she was joking or not.

"Funny, Shar," I said. "No." I neglected to tell her, that we'd yet to do that, still, and it had been two and a half months, almost.

"Well, no wonder he's angry," Sharpay said.

"What are you talking about?" Troy asked her. "Are you going insane again?"

"Are you okay?" I asked Sharpay.

"I'm fine!" she said. I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm not. What should I do?"

"About what?" I asked. She gave me a look, and I understood. "Oh. Wait until you're ready, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Find your inner–"

"That's really helpful," Sharpay said, cutting me off, and leaving the house abruptly.

"Okay, that was weird," I supplied, taking Troy up to my room. Friday night equals movie night, right? Right.

* * *

Several hours later, I was snuggling into Troy, on my bed, and we were both watching a movie. I was enjoying it quite a bit, but Troy was laying there, thinking about something. When I noticed his expression, I frowned.

"What'cha thinking about?" I asked.

"Nothing," Troy said, quickly.

"I can tell you're thinking about something," I said.

"And you can't figure out what I'm thinking about?" he joked. I didn't think it funny at all, and went back to the movie. Five minutes later, I looked at him again.

"Chuckie," I said, suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Troy said.

"That's what you're thinking about," I said. "Well, who, actually. I can tell. You always get the same expression on your face."

"I am _not_ thinking about him," Troy lied. "Why would I, when I have my wonderful _current_ boyfriend here with me?"

"I'm sensing a feeling that he put out a lot more than I do," I said.

"What-what would make you say that?" Troy said.

"Just a sense," I said. "Is it true?"

"We, um, _might_ have done some stuff…" Troy said. "Before…"

"So, what you're trying to say is that you're _not_ a virgin," I said.

"Did I ever say I was?" Troy asked.

"Kelsi did," I said. "And she's never wrong."

"Yeah, well, she also thought I was straight, now, didn't she?" Troy argued.

"So, do you still think about him at night when you're all alone in your bed?" I asked.

"No!" Troy said. "I _never_ think about him like that. Ever."

"Oh, I'm supposed to believe that!" I said. "Look, just go back to your stupid boyfriend, if that's what you want so bad."

"It's _not_!" Troy yelled. "How many times do I have to say that it's _you_, Ryan? It's you! I want _you_! Not Chuckie, you! You, you, you, you, you! You! I love _you_! And it's always been about you!"

"I'm supposed to believe that when you were having your…intimate nights…with the Chuckster, you were thinking about me the whole time?" I asked. Troy frowned slightly.

"Well, _no_," Troy said. "I wasn't. But that was before we got together." I was very angry, all of a sudden, and I didn't quite know where the sudden angry was coming from. (Later, I would read "Civilization and it's Discontents" by Sigmund Freud and find out.) I was at a loss for words, so I instead settled for viciously kissing Troy's lips. Troy began to kiss back, even though he probably didn't get what was going on. Something possessed by all of a sudden, to start unbuttoning his shirt, and he pulled away from me. "Whoa! What are you doing?"

"Shut up," I growled, capturing Troy's lips again to silence him. Troy's shirt was taken off of him, and I took off his my shirt (a tee shirt, causing time for Troy to speak again, although he didn't dare). I repositioned ourselves on the bed, and unbuttoned Troy's pants, pulling them off as well. Troy looked increasingly scared and/or worried, but I had stopped caring. I was going to prove to Troy that Chuckie wasn't worth his time, until I had Troy screaming it.

**A/N: Cut Sex Scene. I'm not distributing it, don't ask. During it, though, Ryan becomes a lot less randomly aggressive and dominant, Troy questions his motives for doing it, and Ryan realizes that he has no idea what to do with a bottle of lube. Too much information? Sorry.  
**

Afterwards, I lay down next to Troy, who was very winded. "So," I said. I was out of breath as well.

"Yeah," Troy said.

"How was that?" I asked.

"That was…amazing," Troy said.

"Really? Better than…you know…" I half-asked.

"Definitely," Troy said. There was a pause while we both tried to regain our breath. "That was your first time with this?"

"Yeah," I panted.

"Damn, you sure know what you're doing," Troy said, impressed.

"Well, it's not like I'm a virgin, Troy," I said.

"Oh, well, yeah," Troy said, having forgotten that I'd had sex with both Gabriella and Kelsi just before the two of us first started dating. "I forgot."

"So, you're a bottom, huh? Sharpay didn't think so," I said, nonchalantly.

"I'm both, actually," Troy disclosed.

"Oh," I said. It was all I could think of to say. It surprised me more than anything that Troy had been willing to bottom for our first time. There was an awkward pause. "Which is more enjoyable?"

"Don't care, so long as it's with you," Troy said. I couldn't tell if he was being cute, or if he was joking. I decided on cute.

"That's cute," I said.

"Can you imagine if Sharpay walked in right now?" Troy asked suddenly.

"Dude, that's my sister," I said. The thought kind of creeped me out. We didn't know where she'd gone when she'd left the house that evening.

"Well, we're at _your_ house," Troy said. I ignored his sarcasm.

"I love you, Troy," I said.

"I love you too, Ryan," he replied.

**A/N: Okay, so that's not exactly how I meant to end this chapter, but it got wayyy to long to add the rest of what I wanted to do, so I ended the chapter there. Lucky chapter 21…the boys sure got lucky. As for the Ryan top thing…I, uh…it made sense with the whole scene, which I'm not giving out, so don't ask, and it made Sharpay's jokes funnier, because it's funny when Sharpay is wrong. Rest assured that they will most likely switch off in the future. If you'd rather I not talk about it, that's fine too.**

**So, um, thanks for reading, and please review! There's not much left, now, and I'm losing my will to keep writing. (Or, I would, if a certain someone doesn't review asking for an update asap. You know who you are. Much appreciated, thank you, by the way.) I don't own HSM, or Skeeball, or RENT, or the word "truthiness" from the last chapter, that I forgot to credit to Mr. Stephen Colbert. I really don't want him to sue me, so I thought I'd credit it.**

**Did I mention this is the fourth longest chapter? (Because chapters 11 and 20 are in a tie for first and second place, and chapter 15 is in third.)  
**

**Samantha.**


	22. TruthOut

**A/N: Bold during this chapter is not a note from me. It's the lyrics. Because guess what it's time for? That's right. Weeks of rehearsal, late-night singing lessons at Kelsi's house…and it all leads up to…this. Enjoy. Question: Does anyone even still say "Truth-out" anymore?**

Wednesday, October 31, 2007. 6pm, Mountain Daylight Time. Well, it's time. Truth-out. We're going to put on the show. I was scared. Why Halloween? Because it fits. It was Angel's favorite holiday. Okay, that's not why, but it's true. I was backstage doing warmup exercises with Sharpay in our (her?) dressing room. Everyone was getting ready. Kelsi was freaking out, but I sent Troy to calm her down. We were all (within reason, of course) ready to do this. I heard Principal Matsui and Ms. Darbus on the stage with a microphone. _Jeez, just kill us now. Ms. Darbus and a microphone._ Ms. Darbus started lecturing about theater etiquette and our audience (which was quite large) settled down.

"And now, we have our feature presentation. Before they start, I would like to remind everyone that the school administration does not condone most of the actions glorified in this presentation," Principal Matsui was saying. "And now…East High is proud to present….Truth-Out!" Yeah, we named our medley Truth-Out. Why? Because Sharpay wanted to, and what Sharpay says goes, basically. There were mild cheers from the audience, and we all went out into the blackout on stage to our starting positions. Kelsi hit the opening chords, and a spotlight fell on Chuckie, standing center stage, microphone in hand.

**Chuckie:  
**_**Dearly Beloved, we gather here to say our goodbyes…  
Here she lies…no one knew her worth  
The late, great daughter of Mother Earth  
On these nights when we celebrate the birth…  
In that little town of Bethlehem  
We raise our glass, you bet you ass to…  
La Vie Boheme.**_

There was a whoop from the audience. Evidently we had a RENT fan. The lights came up full on the stage, and Chuckie put his microphone in the stand and came to join the rest of us, while we were chanting "La Vie Boheme".

**Chad and Jason (alternately):  
**_**To days of inspiration, playing hooky,  
Making something out of nothing,  
The need to express, to communicate,  
To going against the grain, going insane, going mad…  
To loving tension, no pension, to more than one dimension  
To starving for attention, hating convention,  
Hating pretension, not to mention of course,  
Hating dear old Mom and Dad…  
To riding your bike midday past the three piece suits,  
To fruits! To no absolutes, to Absolut!  
To choice, to the Village Voice, to any passing fad!  
To being as "us" for once, instead of a "them"…  
La Vie Boheme!**_

The audience, from what I could tell, was really getting into it, but Kelsi upped the tempo, and those of us standing on the table jumped down, and started singing a different song.

**All:  
**_**Cuz you can't stop the beat!**_

Even louder cheer than before. Hairspray had gotten really popular the summer before, what with Zac Efron, and whatnot.

**All:  
**_**Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…  
Ever since we first saw the sun,  
A man and woman like to shake it when the day is done,  
So I'm gonna shake and shimmy it and have some fun today!  
Cuz you can't stop the motion of the ocean of the rain from above,  
You can try to stop the paradise we're (**_**clap**_**) dreaming of,  
But you cannot stop the rhythm of two hearts in love to stay…  
Cuz you can't stop the beat!**_

They liked it. The audience liked it. I was worried they wouldn't. And Kelsi was too. She changed keys again, and we started a new song.

**All:  
**_**We go together like rama lama lama ka ding a dee ding dee dong  
Remembered forever like shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom  
Chang chang changitty chang shoo-bop  
That's the way it should be Wa-oooh yeah!  
We're one of a kind like dip da dip da dip doo wop ee doobee doo  
Our names are signed, boogedy boogedy boogedy boogedy shoo dee doo wop she bop  
Chang chang chang-it-ty chang shoo-bop  
We'll always be like one wa-wa-wa-waaa!**_

Troy went to the front, and the nine of us formed an impromptu pyramid (two dimensional, not up like the cheerleaders, just a formation). Troy half yelled, half said into the microphone, "Come on, you all know this one!"

**All:  
**_**We're all in this together once we know that we are; we're all stars and we see that…  
We're all in this together and it shows when we stand hand in hand make our dreams come true…  
We're all in this together when we reach we can fly know inside we can make it…  
We're all in this together once we see there's a chance that we have and we take it  
Wildcats sing along, yeah, you really got it going on  
Wildcats in the house, everybody say it now  
Wildcats everywhere, wave your hands up in the air  
That's the way we do it, let's get to it  
Time to show the world!**_

We had done the dance in the little pyramid, the same as we'd done the January before, and the audience was really into it by this point. Too bad we were nowhere near finished. The music slowed down, and then sped up again, as Zeke came by with his bit.

**Zeke:  
**_**So, that's five miso soup, four seaweed salad, three soy burger dinner,  
Two tofu dog platter, and one pasta with meatless balls.**_

**Chad:  
**_**Ew.**_

**Me:  
**_**It tastes the same.**_

**Sharpay:  
**_**If you…close your eyes.**_

**Zeke:  
**_**And thirteen orders of fries…is that it here?**_

**All:  
**_**Wine and Beer!**_

**Me and Gabriella:  
**_**To hand crafted beers made in local breweries,  
To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese,  
To leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo,  
To Heuvos Rancheros, and Maya Angelou,**_

**Zeke and Sharpay:  
**_**Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion  
Creation, vacation**_

**Troy:  
**_**Mucho masturbation.**_

Laughs from the audience. Why not? It was a funny song. We chose Zeke for the waiter because he bakes. Good enough reason as any, right?

**Zeke, Sharpay, Chad, and Taylor:  
**_**Compassion, to fashion, to passion when it's new  
To Sontag, to Sondheim, to anything taboo.**_

Troy, Jason, and I stood on the table for the next bit.

**Troy, Jason, and me:  
**_**Ginsberg, Dylan, Cunningham and Cage…**_

**Troy:  
**_**Lenny Bruce.**_

**Jason:  
**_**Langston Hughes!**_

**Me and Sharpay:  
**_**To the stage!**_

**Taylor and Gabriella:  
**_**To Uta! To Buddha! Pablo Neruda too…**_

**Gabriella and Troy:  
**_**Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow…  
To blow off Auntie Em!**_

**All:  
**_**La Vie Boheme!**_

Did I mention that the audience was a big RENT fan? Even if Troy isn't, I still am, and it makes me happy to find other RENTheads out there. We all started clapping in rhythm to set up a slower beat, and went into another song.

**All:  
**_**525,600 minutes, 525,000 journeys to plan  
525,600 minutes, How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?  
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried?  
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died?!  
It's time now (**_**clap**_**) to sing out (**_**clap**_**) though the story never ends (**_**clap**_**)  
Let's celebrate (**_**clap**_**) remember a year (**_**clap**_**) in the life friends!!  
Remember the love…. (**_**Gabriella: **_**You've got to remember the love)  
Remember the love… (**_**Gabriella:**_** You know that love is a gift from up above)  
Remember the love… (**_**Gabriella: **_**Share love, give love, spread your love)  
**_**(Gabriella:**_** Measure…Measure your life in Love!!)  
Seasons of love…seasons of love… (**_**Gabriella: **_**Measure your life, measure your life in love)**_

Next came the most awkward transition in the whole work. We had to go from the emotionally uplifting piece "Seasons of Love" to what came next. Kelsi rammed up the tempo.

**Chad: (Cuz it's funny)  
**_**Oh my, Oh my, Oh my God, Oh my God!**_

**All except Taylor and Chad:  
**_**Oh my, Oh my, Oh my God, Oh my God!  
Omigod, omigod, you guys,  
Granted not a complete surprise,  
But if there ever was a perfect couple, this one qualifies**_

**Chad and Taylor (the rest of us):  
**_**And now I've found my way (My God)  
I've found my way to love (you guys!)  
I've finally found my prize…**_

**All except Taylor and Chad:  
**_**If there ever was a perfect couple this one qualifies, cuz we love you guys.**_

**Chad and Taylor:  
**_**No, we love you guys! (**_**Troy and I made fake "aw" faces)**

**Chad and Taylor:  
**_**Omigod!**_

**Me and Troy:  
**_**Omigod!**_

**Zeke and Sharpay:  
**_**Omigod!**_

**All:  
**_**You guys!! Omigod!**_

Laughs for hilarity. It was funny. That whole song is funny. It is not meant to imply that Chad and Taylor are engaged, because they are not.

**Troy (the rest of us):  
**_**So, every afternoon drop everything… (bop be ba ba ba ba ba ba be bop)  
Who needs to read and write when you can dance and sing? (bop be ba ba ba ba ba ba be bop)  
Forget about your algebra and calculus, you can always do your homework on the morning bus,  
Can't tell a verb from a noun, they're the nicest kids in town. (ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)**_

That was dance partner work, which was difficult (more for Zeke than for anyone else, but Sharpay pulled him through it). Next came the four part harmony, that was difficult to write, and to keep track of, considering one of the parts was just Sharpay.

**All:  
**_**If you were gay…I'd shout…Hooray!! And here I'd stay  
But I wouldn't get in your way. You can count on me to always be  
Beside you everyday, to tell you it's okay, you were just born that way  
And as they say, it's in your DNA! You're gay!**_

Kelsi hit a chord, and the lights all went out. (We call that a blackout.) There was applause from the audience, as well as laughter. Avenue Q will do that. I mean, it's puppets. Sharpay made her way (almost blindly) to the front of the stage, to de-stand the microphone, at which point she yelled, "A 5, 6, 7, 8!"

**All:  
**_**A na na na na, na na na na, na na na, You are the music in…  
A na na na na, na na na na, na na na, You are the music in…are the music in…**_

**Sharpay:  
**_**You know the words once upon a time makes you listen, there's a reason  
And when you dream there's a chance you'll find a little laughter or a happy every after**_

**Troy and me:  
**_**You're harmony to the melody, that's echoing inside my head**_

**Me:  
**_**A single voice**_

**Troy:  
**_**Above the noise**_

**Sharpay:  
**_**And like a common thread…a sing it to me.**_

Despite concerns that Kelsi wouldn't want to play Sharpay's version on the song, it did actually fit there, quite well, actually, and so we let it slide. Kelsi softened out the tempo a little, and we all began skipping gaily around the stage, emulating Nikki Blonsky, Elijah Kelley, and Amanda Bynes in Hairspray.

**All:  
**_**Like a week that's only Mondays, only ice cream never sundaes,  
Like a circle with no center, like a door marked "do not enter"  
Darling, I'll be yours forever, cuz I never want to be Without Love  
Yes now you've captured me (Without Love)  
I surrender happily (Without Love)  
So, darling, never set me free. No, no, no, (No, I ain't lying)  
Never set me free, no, no, no.  
No, I don't wanna live without love, love, love (yeah, yeah, yeah)  
Darling, you had best believe me, never leave me without love!**_

On to the part that would definitely get us suspended, except for not. Kelsi changed the tempo (and keys) to a more jaunty one, and Troy and I stood on the edge of the table closest to the audience, grasping each other's hands.

**Me and Troy:  
**_**Brothers!**_

We jumped off the table, hand in hand. The audience obviously didn't get the joke, even though it was quite funny.

**All:  
**_**Bisexuals, Trisexuals, homo sapiens, carcinogens,  
Hallucinogens, men, Pee Wee Herman  
German Wine, Turpentine, Gertrude Stein  
Antonioni, Bertolucci, Kurosawa, Carmina Burawna  
To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy  
Vaclav Havel, the Sex Pistols, 8BC  
To no shame never playing the fame game  
To Marijuana, to sodomy, it's between God and me  
To S & M, La Vie Boheme!**_

I'm not sure at which point the next song became a showtune, but it certainly was fitting as a transition. We all did the dance too. Select members of the audience did as well. It was funny.

**All:  
**_**It's fun to stay at the YMCA, it's fun to stay at the YMCA  
They have everything, for young men to enjoy, you can hang out with all the boys  
It's fun to stay at the YMCA, it's fun to stay at the YMCA**_

The next song was on questionable origin as well, but it was also fitting. A partner dance, of course. How else?

**Troy:  
**_**Don't be afraid, take me hand, forget the world  
Will you dance, dance with me…Podemos Bailar Eternamente  
Trust in me, take a chance, feel the Tango  
When you dance, dance with me…Podemos Bailar Eternamente**_

It's from the Cheetah Girls 2, it you were wondering. Drew Seeley. Since the tango beat was already set up, we moved into another, more well-known tango song.

**Me and Gabriella:  
**_**When you're dancing her dance, you don't stand a chance,  
Her grip of romance makes you fall**_

**Me:  
**_**So you think might as well**_

**Gabriella:  
**_**Dance a tango to hell**_

**Me and Gabriella:  
**_**At least I'll have tangoed at all.**_

Kelsi played a bit more exit music for that song, then played a series of chords, cueing the guys and I to set up a stomp, clap, stomp, stomp, clap, clap beat.

**Gabriella and Taylor (to Sharpay):  
**_**Bend…and Snap!**_

**Guys:  
**_**Damn!**_

**Sharpay:  
**_**Hey, wait a second, when I beckoned, look how the guys came running  
Like I'm (kicking!) Finger (licking!) Like I'm fricken (wicked stunning!)  
**_**(To me) **_**Will you pay for stuff I buy? (Yes!)  
**_**(To Zeke) **_**Will you make me cake and pie? (Yes!)  
**_**(To Troy)**_** And hold me when I cry? YES!  
And I will tell you why. (Why?)  
I'm too rocking to lock away,  
All the boys come and gawk away,  
Dropping jaws from a block away  
Watching how I walk away**_

**Guys:  
**_**We love to watch her walk away!**_

Laughter. That song is amazing. Kelsi did a series of six chords, and Gabriella and Taylor came out from behind the guys, and started a song with Sharpay. Taylor was nervous. She'd…it was good acting on her part.

**Gabriella, Sharpay, and Taylor:  
**_**The minute you walked in the joint  
I could tell you were a man of distinction…a real big spender  
Good looking, so refined, say wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind?  
So let me get right to the point…  
I don't pop my cork for every guy I see…  
Hey Big Spender! Spend…a little time with…me…**_

Well done. You wouldn't believe that Sharpay was the only…never mind. Us guys came around to join the girls, and started another song, changing keys, and tempo slightly.

**All:  
**_**No one mourns the Wicked! No one cries, "They won't return!"  
No one lays a lily on their grave.**_

**Jason:  
**_**The good man scorns the Wicked!**_

**Sharpay, Gabriella, and Taylor:  
**_**Through their lives our children learn.**_

**All:  
**_**What we miss when we misbehave…**_

A bit random, but it fit. It was time to slow the tempo wayyy down, with one of my personal favorites.

**Me:  
**_**Happiness is having a sister**_

**Sharpay:  
**_**Sharing a sandwich**_

**Me and Sharpay:  
**_**Getting along**_

**All (harmony):  
**_**Happiness is singing together (singing together when day is through) when day is through  
And happiness is those who sing with (Happiness is those who sing with...) you  
Happiness is morning and evening, daytime and nighttime too!  
For happiness (happiness) is anyone (anyone)  
And anything (anything) at all (at all)  
That's loved by you…**_

It was a good way to end, but we weren't quite finished yet. We still had one last bit to do. The tempo slowly worked its way up.

**All: **_**TO DANCE!**_

**Sharpay:  
**_**No way to make a living, masochism, pain perfection,  
Muscle spasms, chiropractors, short careers, eating disorders!**_

**All: **_**FILM!**_

**Jason:  
**_**Adventure, tedium, no family, boring locations,  
Dark rooms, perfect faces, ego, money, Hollywood, and sleaze.**_

**All: **_**MUSIC!**_

**Me:  
**_**Food of love, emotion, mathematics, isolation,  
Rhythm, power, feeling, harmony, and heavy competition!**_

**All: **_**ANARCHY!**_

**Troy and Gabriella:  
**_**Revolution, justice screaming for solutions,  
Forcing changes, risk and danger, making noise and making pleas!**_

We all danced across the table that had been moved to be parallel to the front of the stage during "Big Spender" as we sang our mini verses.

**All:  
**_**To faggots, lezzies, dykes, cross-dressers too!**_

**Me:  
**_**To me!**_

**Chuckie:  
**_**To me!**_

**Troy:  
**_**To me!**_

**All:  
**_**To you and you and you, you and you.  
To people living with, living with, living with,  
Not dying from disease!  
Let he among us without sin, be the first to condemn…  
La Vie Boheme!**_

We all chanted "La Vie Boheme" again, as Chuckie finished the song, and we all danced on the table.

**Chuckie:  
**_**Anyone out of the mainstream!  
Is anyone in the mainstream?  
Anyone alive with a sex drive…  
Tear down the wall…aren't we all?  
The opposite of war isn't peace  
It's creation!**_

**All:  
**_**La Vie Boheme!**_

And now to finish it.

_**VIVA LA VIE BOHEME!**_

Kelsi played a final chord, and it was over. The audience was cheering. I extricated myself from the pose, and took the center stage microphone.

"Okay, so that was our presentation of Truth-Out!" I said. The audience cheered. "I am required to say that the school administration, the drama department, and the performers on stage to not condone Marijuana, or any type of violence. I am also obligated to tell you that none of our performers are dying from (or living with) AIDS. I also feel I have to tell you that there's nothing wrong with being gay! Me and my boyfriend are!" I motioned Troy up and kissed him, lightly. Cliché, I know, but the point got across. Chuckie came up too and grabbed my microphone.

"Uh, me too," he said. "If that wasn't clear." Troy stole the microphone from him.

"And if you mess with either of them, you're messing with me," Troy declared. The audience gave stood up and clapped. I didn't want to see Coach Bolton's reaction, so I didn't look. The rest joined us, and we all bowed, and then we skipped happily backstage.

"And as they say it's in your DNA, you're gay…" I hummed to myself as I did so, proud with my day's work. Or several months' work. Principal Matsui and Ms. Darbus were talking again, but I didn't really care. We had done it. It was over with. And we lived. So far.

**A/N: Hey, it's me, I'm back again. That is the unofficial end to the story. There is an epilogue, although I'm not exactly sure what to write, because there's also a sequel. What do you guys want to know in the epilogue? (Seriously. I'd like to know.)**

**The songs used (in order) were:**

**La Vie Boheme – Rent  
You Can't Stop the Beat – Hairspray  
We Go Together – Grease  
We're All in this Together – High School Musical  
La Vie Boheme – Rent  
Seasons of Love – Rent  
Find My Way / Finale – Legally Blonde (No, not Omigod, You Guys. It didn't fit.)  
The Nicest Kids in Town – Hairspray  
If You Were Gay – Avenue Q  
You Are the Music in Me (Sharpay's Version) – High School Musical 2  
Without Love – Hairspray  
La Vie Boheme – Rent  
YMCA – The Village People  
Dance with Me – Drew Seeley (Did anyone notice the random irony of Troy singing that song?)  
Tango: Maureen – Rent  
Bend and Snap – Legally Blonde  
Big Spender – Sweet Charity  
No One Mourns the Wicked – Wicked  
Happiness – You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Revival Cast)  
La Vie Boheme – Rent**

**No, you're not hallucinating. I've got La Vie Boheme listed more than once. I used it more than once. Anyways, I don't own any of these songs, nor HSM, nor the characters, nor the RENT references from the beginning or…anything! Yay, me! (I also don't own the Suite Life, or London).**

**So, thank you guys so much for reading, and please please please PLEASE review, because there is the epilogue left.**

**Samantha. :)**


	23. Epilogue

That pretty much brings us to the present. Christmas break is in a few days. I can't believe that it's been less than a year since Troy met Gabriella in Colorado, and they stole me and Sharpay's parts in the musical.

Well, I guess you want to know that aftermath. I 'spose I could do that for you.

Troy and I are still together, of course. Why wouldn't we be? We're perfect together. I went to the Spice Girls concert last week. Spice Girls equals amazing, like always. Chad and Taylor are still together, and Sharpay finally settled on Zeke. She said that the performance was like her last attempt on not believing what was going on.

Okay, so Troy's parents. I've been avoiding the subject a lot, haven't I? Well, it turns out Troy didn't have much to be afraid of. Mrs. Bolton said she always suspected something, but didn't say anything because she "must have been imagining it". Coach Bolton…was harder to convince. He brought up Troy's recent relationship with Gabriella, which Troy ended up describing as his last attempt to convince himself he was straight. (Or completely straight, anyways, even though he didn't say that.) Coach Bolton wasn't very happy about it, but he accepted it.

Troy and Chuckie kept their spots on the basketball team, and I'm sure they'll go on to win the Championships again this year. I researched the Cliff Harrison case, and it turned out that the guy he punched got suspended for provoking him, and Cliff got detention for punching him. A fair trade-off in my opinion. Fortunately, Troy didn't have to punch anyone. There were the guys who didn't like us, but they kept to themselves, and we kept to ourselves.

Gabriella? Well…she's the same as always. Her and Sharpay are having a feud about who gets to star in the Winter Musical, for which auditions are coming up fast on. When Zeke tried to intervene, he got yelled at from both parties, and stopped trying after that.

Jason and Kelsi, well…they're still together. We think. They don't really…well, you know how it is. I'll ask her tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure they're still together.

Ms. Darbus gave the nine of us A's in Drama for the semester, even if Chad was failing the actual class. His performance evidently weighed out his unappreciative thoughts for the arts.

And Chuckie. Sigh. Well, he hooked up (yes, like _that_. Don't ask me how I know) with this guy he apparently knew from some basketball camp when he was younger, named Justin. I met him once. He's…whatever. Kind of almost reminds me of Troy. I guess they're together now… Justin's older than us, I think, but whatever. It's not my life.

And the Board of Secrets itself. Well, Chad called earlier, and it turns out we've got another rogue secret out to chase. I asked him why we haven't had any to chase in the last…since August. He told me it was because he didn't want to bother me and Troy with secret hunting when we could be "celebrating our young romance". I was skeptical of this and he admitted those were Taylor's words. He deemed our "young romance" over, though, and gave me a job to do. It's top secret though, so I can't tell.

That pretty much concludes my story. I think Troy's writing his story, at the moment, so stay tuned for that. And as he says, "Hey, whatever happens, as long as we're together, it's cool, right?" Right.

**A/N: OMG, I can't believe I'm actually done. This is…frightening. It's over! I can't believe it! It's been…almost three months in the writing (I started on February 12, 2008). It's so sad! Does anyone think they got off way too easily? Yeah, me too, but whatever, right? It's a Disney movie.**

**Well, as usual, I don't own HSM, or anything else. Remember?**

**Um, thank you guys so much for reading this whole thing and sticking with it, especially to those of you who reviewed:**

**EstrellaDeRoca  
DCLynneHaddock  
MaDShiPPA  
trekkie112  
Embry  
Broken-SilverWings  
Lil Riter  
Potterdownthestreet  
renthead0329**

**And to those of you who have this on Alerts:**

**EstrellaDeRoca  
Broken-SilverWings  
Potterdownthestreet  
trekkie112  
LucasGrabeel-LoVe**

**luvsbitch95  
MaCaFrOmAuS  
Naleyluv4ever  
Sunday's Girl  
Vegasgal007  
e-p-unum  
little-kiwi-boi  
princessames  
wayfarer-redemption**

**And, of course, those of you who have it on your favorites:**

**EstrellaDeRoca  
DCLynneHaddock  
Broken-SilverWings  
Potterdownthestreet  
BabyGlover  
luvsbitch95  
renthead0329**

**And as for the…three…of you who are on all three lists, you make me happy. And even if you're just on two lists. You're still awesome, because…what is this story without your reviews? Check out the first…few chapters. Really. And even if you're just on one list. You guys are amazing. If I missed anyone, please forgive me. **_**Please**_**.**

**Okay, so now it's time for…promos. I'm promoting the sequel and prequel to this story right here, right now, and hopefully, you've all read down this far. Oh, and tell me which I should post first. Or, both at the same time, if you think you can keep up. Whatever you guys want, I don't really care.**

**Prequel: ****Middle School Musical****.  
It's Troy's story. His thing to do. Takes place 5 years in the past (August 2002 up through…whenever it **

**ends). He tells us the story of his first realization of his feelings for Ryan, and we follow Troy and his guys on their roller coaster ride that they call life. Includes such shocking revelations as why Troy doesn't have to wear a watch, why Troy, Ryan, Sharpay, and Chad were fighting, Chadpay, and other shocking things, for instance why Ryan and Sharpay were at Troy's house at all. Did I mention it's got a little bit of Chadpay in it? Yeah, it does.**

**Sequel: ****17 going on…28?  
****Troy's story again. Takes place 10 years in the future (March 2018 through whenever it ends). Troy wakes up and finds himself ten years in the future, and things are not the way he thought they'd be. When he tries to tell people that he's still 17, no one believes him except Maddie, his nine year old daughter. Wait, daughter? Includes such shocking revelations as what **_**really**_** happened to them all after the other story, after the epilogue even, and why Troy even **_**has**_** a daughter. Tryan, of course, as well as Troypay, Chaylor, Jelsi, and all that good stuff. Oh, and Gabriella gets a boyfriend. Intrigued yet?**

**Okay, so…yeah. That's the end, and I'm really sad. So, if you want me to be happy and stuff, then…review this, and tell me what you think of the story, including your favorite part, if you want, and then tell me what I should do next! Please? That'd be really helpful, thank you all so much!**

**Samantha. :D**


	24. A Public Service Announcement

Dear Readers:

My dear and wonderful readers, I love each and every one of you and the support that you have given me for this story: The Board of Secrets. Recently it has come to my attention that while the whole premise of the story is good, the actual writing sucks and through the many sequels I've written, facts and even characters have changed forcing me to make this awful and exciting news:

I am re-writing The Board of Secrets. As a service to my own naiveté, I plan to leave the original up, to remind me of my first story and the success that it had. I urge every person who loved it the first time to come back and read it the second time.

I guess I've been planning this re-write for a while, slowing re-doing bits and pieces, adding in facts, completely tearing out sections. Finally, I came to a stopping point while I was re-reading it, probably the first time I've ever read the whole thing in one sitting and said: This is just…awful. I can't believe I got anyone to read this. I'm sure every writer says that about their work, but I'm serious. The new version will be so much better, I promise. And I hope to start working on it very soon. I've got the re-writes for a few of the final chapters written as well as **BRAND NEW CONTENT!** just for you guys, I just have to do the beginning.

In the weeks and months to come, those of you that have stuck with me, Troy, and Ryan until the very end will not regret it. Thank you for your continuing support, and, as always, feel free to leave a review or PM me with your thoughts on the subject. I love you all.

Samantha.


End file.
